BT 205 .M54 1914
Miller, Lucius Hopkins.
Our knowledge of Christ
OUR KNOWLEDGE OF
CHRIST
FEB 1 1915
AN HISTORICAL APPROACHV a
LUCIUS HOPKINS MILLER
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF BIBIilCAL INSTRDCTION
IN PBINCKTON UNIVERSITY.
NEW YORK
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
1914
Copyright, 19U,
BY
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
Published December, 1914
TO MY WIFE
PREFACE
We hear it often said that these are days
of change. Indeed they are. Perhaps there
is more of the spirit of change in this genera-
tion than in many that have gone before.
But we must not forget that change has been
a continual element in human affairs. We
all accept this in general whether we believe,
or do not believe, that change means pro-
gress.
But many who recognize this factor in
human life at the same time maintain that
it does not hold in the realm of religion
and religious thought. In their minds, any
change of view regarding the inspiration of
the Bible destroys reverence for the Bible as
the Word of God; any change of view re-
garding Jesus Christ dethrones him from his
vi PREFACE
eternal place as the Lord and Master of our
lives.
I have too much respect and admiration
for the spiritual power and intellectual
honesty of thousands of men and women
who think in this way to appear for a mo-
ment as in any sense their antagonist. I
was born and brought up in an atmosphere
permeated by such ideas and I owe too much
to my upbringing to be able, even if I
wished, to deny the spiritual value of that
heritage.
But there are many, brought up as I was
brought up, and many others not so reared
for whom the old has become increasingly
unsatisfying. I do not mean those who have
failed to keep their religious life warm and
tender; for this, unfortunately, may and
does happen to men of all shades of thought.
I mean men who are sincerely trying to
know and to live the truth.
There are several legitimate reasons why
such men often feel that the old statements
PREFACE vii
are unsatisfactory. One is that historical
investigation has altered their view of the
past. I admit that much which has been
put forth under the guise of historical
criticism has been insecurely grounded.
Still, such a phenomenon is inevitable if the
benefits of complete freedom of investiga-
tion are to be secured. Conclusions which
distort or run beyond the facts destroy
themselves, sooner or later; further, the
scientific law of " trial and error " is too
important to be overlooked. But the ad-
mission just made does not alter the plain
fact that historical study has forced many
good and sincere Christians to alter greatly
their views regarding the Bible, including
the Gospels and the life of Christ. This re-
adjustment is for many a hard trial and be-
set with religious danger. Those who are
going through it should guard their religious
life by every possible means.
I wish to emphasize that I am not particu-
larly interested in pressing a new point of
viii PREFACE
view upon any who honestly and intelligently
hold to the age-old formulas and derive com-
fort and power from them. The religious
life is the main thing for us all. But many
of us have been obliged to readjust our views
for the very sake of that Christian faith we
long for and need. Many others have turned
their backs upon the Church, and even upon
all religion, because they have not been
helped to a new view which would have
shown them that such desertion is unneces-
sary, harmful and wrong.
It is for such that this little book has been
written and my sole and sincere purpose in
writing it has been to advance the interests
of Christ's Kingdom among men. To those
who may think its conclusions negative I can
only say that these conclusions form a basis
on which I have been able to maintain a vital,
positive faith in Christ as Master, Lord and
Saviour. This basis has set me free to see
and to hold before myself the simplicity of
the Gospel. But this simplicity, as I have
PREFACE ix
elsewhere said, is truly " a terrible simplic-
ity." Intellectual problems may be hard to
solve; but the hardest problem of all is to
maintain one's Christian spirit in the midst
of the hurly-burly of our distracted modern
life. The gravity of this problem should
constrain all who are in any way akin in their
attitude toward Christ to cease strife and
join hands in the Great Campaign of win-
ning the world to Christ.
The four chapters of this book appeared
originally as articles in The Biblical
World of Chicago. I wish to thank the
editors for permission to reprint them in
book-form. A few changes have been made
but nothing essential has been altered.
Lucius Hopkins Miller,
Princeton, New Jersey,
September 21, 1914.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGE
The Soubce op Oub Infobmation Concebning Jesus 1
The Meagerness of Information Outside the
Gospels 1
Why Were the Gospels Written so Late? ... 4
What Needs Gave Rise to the Gospels? .... 10
How Did the Gospels Come into Being? ... 19
The Logia of Matthew 20
The Gospels 22
How Reliable are these Sources? 29
The Virgin Birth of Jesus 30
The Resurrection 33
The Miracles 38
The Teaching of Jesus 44
CHAPTER II
The Life of Jesus 48
The Early Influences under which Jesus Lived . 50
The Call to the Messianic Life 55
The Chronology of the Ministry 59
The Early Preaching 60
Early Difficulties 62
The Change at Caesarea Philippi 65
Jesus' Expectation of Death and Resurrection . 67
xi
xii CONTENTS
FAQE
The Last Journey to Jerusalem 73
The Last Week in Jerusalem 75
The Resurrection 80
CHAPTER III
The Teaching of Jesus 85
Method of Interpretation 86
The Inward Emphasis of Jesus' Teaching and
His Attitude Toward the Law 87
Christian Inwardness 95
What Does Jesus Teach Regarding God ... 98
The Power of God 99
The Love of God 101
God and Nature .113
The Nearness of God 114
What Does Jesus Teach Concerning Man? . . 116
The " Kingdom of Heaven " 123
Some Other Fundamental Questions .... 125
Is Jesus' Teaching Social in its Emphasis . . . 127
Conclusion 129
CHAPTER IV
The Divinity of Christ 131
The New Phase of the Question 132
The Teaching of the New Testament .... 134
The Rise of the Creeds 138
The Incarnation and the Doctrine of Human
Nature 142
God and the Holy Spirit 148
The Main Cause of Present Misunderstanding . 154
Can We Believe in the Divinity of Christ? . . 156
Index 163
OUR KNOWLEDGE OF
CHRIST
CHAPTER I
THE SOURCE OF OUR INFORMA-
TION CONCERNING JESUS
The Meagerness of Information Out-
side The Gospels
If we were deprived of the four Gospels,
our information regarding the hfe of Jesus
would be extremely meager.
Strangely enough, Josephus, the Jewish
historian who lived in the latter half of
the first century and wrote at length about
the Jews, does not mention Jesus; that
is, in what is considered his genuine writ-
ing. Tacitus, however, speaks of a certain
" Christus " who was put to death in the
days of Pilate, probably our Jesus.
Paul, the earliest New Testament writer,
gives us only scanty references to Jesus'
1
2 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
earthly life. Whether he knew much about
the details is an open question. It is hard to
believe that he did not and yet hard to see
why he refers to them so little if he did.
The reason may be found in the fact that
the center of his interest was the " Risen
Christ." " I know not Christ after the
flesh," says Paul. Whether that means that
he actually did not know, or that he delib-
erately put aside such knowledge in favor
of a higher and a better knowledge, is hard
to say. Paul preached Christ crucified and
risen; the death explaining the new rela-
tion of Christians to the law and to sin,
the resurrection revealing the new life in
the Spirit. Thus his testimony is histori-
cally valuable, in the present connection, at
two points, chiefly, but two very important
points — the death of Christ and the resur-
rection. Concerning the teaching of Jesus,
the Pauline epistles contain only four defi-
nite quotations and a few other allusions.
The other New Testament epistles have
INFORMATION OUTSIDE GOSPELS 3
few historical references, are all later than
the Gospels themselves, and so are of little
independent value for the life of Jesus. The
Apocalypse gives us little or nothing and the
Book of Acts is the second volume of a work
of which Luke is volume one; hence it usu-
ally assumes all the information contained
in the latter. The Book of Acts, however,
does purport to give us facts concerning
Jesus from the time of the resurrection to
that of the ascension; it gives a picture of
the ideas and spirit of the first Christians
and the rise of these ideas, the origin of this
spirit, in fact the very existence of these
Christians, we must account for; finally, it
supplies one priceless saying of Jesus, else-
where unknown, namely, " It is more blessed
to give than to receive " — a quotation found,
however, in a speech assigned to Paul.
In spite of these apparently negative re-
sults, had we only these writings and no
Gospels, we should know that a certain Jesus
of Nazareth so lived and taught that he in-
4 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
spired many Jews with a new way of life;
that he was done to death by the Jewish
leaders because of his teaching and example ;
that his followers believed, at least, that he
had risen from the dead, had appeared to
them and continued to live in direct com-
munion with them through the Holy Spirit ;
that these followers finally broke away from
Judaism and established the Christian relig-
ion.
Why Were the Gospels Written So
Late?
It is no wonder that the question has ever
since been raised with insistence: "What
sort of personality could give rise to such
facts? "
This question our four Gospels profess to
answer. We must remember that they were
all written forty to seventy years after the
death of Jesus and that the authors had to
depend for their information upon either
WHY GOSPELS SO LATE? 5
oral or previously written accounts. They
wrote after Paul's work was done and after
Christianity had secured a good start upon
the path of world-conquest. Many prob-
lems had arisen which did not emerge dur-
ing the life of Jesus and many things had
acquired an entirely new aspect.
Furthermore, the deeds and the sayings
of Jesus, whose report was handed down
during these intervening years, were not re-
called and recorded by men like our modern
historians. Ancient writers did not usually
employ a careful and a conscious method for
the express purpose of setting forth historic
fact in a way that would stand the test of an
exacting criticism. Even when they pos-
sessed this purpose, as the author of Luke
certainly did, both the method used and the
criticism to which the results were subjected
were very different from what we now un-
derstand by the terms " historical method "
and " historical criticism." The atmosphere
and circumstances of the case were then
6 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
quite different and, while we need not be
unduly alarmed, we must, as honest and
intelligent men and women, make due al-
lowance for these things. Let us try to
reconstruct the actual conditions.
Jesus wrote nothing and, for a long time
at least, his immediate disciples wrote noth-
ing about the things that most seriously con-
cerned them. This is easily understood.
In the first place, many eyewitnesses were
still alive — men and women who had fol-
lowed Jesus and had companied with him.
They had seen more or less the things which
he did and had heard his words as they fell
from his lips. In many communities, both in
Palestine and elsewhere, there were some to
whom the others, less favored, could turn
with the questions: " What did Jesus say? "
" What did Jesus do? " No doubt, in this
way, many different reports arose, and also
varying interpretations of the same reports.
Yet, in this way also, a body of true tradi-
tion must have been built up and a funda^
WHY GOSPELS SO LATE? 7
mentally correct impression of Jesus' per-
sonality transmitted.
Another fact which midoubtedly delayed
the rise of written accounts was this. The
earliest Christians were all Jews and, for
a time, considered themselves good Jews.
They revered the Law; they used and
honored the sacred Scriptures of their race.
Most of the early gentile converts, also,
were either proselytes to Judaism or " God-
fearing Gentiles," like Cornelius the Cen-
turion, and had attached themselves to Juda-
ism largely because of the strong appeal of
the Old Testament to their better selves.
The difference between all these people and
the orthodox Jew was that, as followers of
the Nazarene Prophet, they interpreted the
Scriptures in the light of their Christian
experience. The early chapters of the Book
of Acts, and in fact the whole New Testa-
ment, show clearly that the first Christians
saw in the Old Testament the prophecy and
justification of their views of Jesus. Thus
8 SOURCES OF OUR INFORMATION
the Old Testament was christianized, and
the Christians had in their hands from the
beginning sacred books which supported
their faith and strengthened their hearts for
daily living. Not for some time did they feel
the need of adding to this literature other
writings distinctively descriptive of the facts
and experiences of their more recent past.
One of the cardinal points in primitive
Christian faith was the belief that Jesus was
very soon to come again to set up his King-
dom. The first Christians waited almost
momentarily for this event. Paul himself
only gradually grew away from the idea.
They saw no use in recording for posterity
the events of Jesus' earthly life when he
himself was so soon to appear to take his
faithful ones to himself and " lead them
into all truth." With the roll of the years
and ever-recurrent disappointment this faith
receded and, as those who had seen the Lord
fell away, the conviction slowly ripened that
a long time must elapse before this great
WHY GOSPELS SO LATE? 9
hope was to be realized. Out of such a con-
viction only could the distinctively literary
motive arise.
Finally, Paul's whole emphasis minimized
the tendency to look back and record what
had been. He thought of Christ in heaven
rather than of Christ on earth; of the risen
Christ rather than of the earthly, historical
Jesus. He bade men look up and ahead, not
back. Paul's influence was paramount in
most of the gentile Christian communities
and this influence made against that interest
in the past out of which our Gospels arose.
For all these reasons, no little time elapsed
before the need of written accounts was
felt and we can easily understand, therefore,
why we have to take into consideration a
fairly long interval between the death of
Christ and the writing of our Gospels.
10 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
What Needs Gave Rise to the Gos-
pels?
Professor Allan Menzies, in The Earliest
Gospel, indicates three needs always pres-
ent in every religious movement. As we
pass them in review, we shall see that these
needs existed in the early Church and that
the Gospel material was selected, indeed the
Gospels themselves written and preserved,
as a result of very practical motives.
Menzies says that " every religious body
is seeking constantly for explanations of its
own character and its own arrangements
and institutions." This is a motive that
actuates us to-day regarding many common
practices ordinarily taken as a matter of
course. Why does the United States resent
and oppose any attempt of a foreign power
to extend its territory in the western hemi-
sphere? To answer this question we return
to the age of James Monroe and refresh our
NEEDS GIVING RISE TO GOSPELS 11
minds with the circumstances surrounding
the original promulgation of the " Monroe
Doctrine." In a case of suspected theft,
why may we not go through the house of a
suspect without a search-warrant? To un-
derstand this we go back to English common
law by which a man is guaranteed certain
inalienable rights upon his own premises.
Why do we Protestants make so much of
the Bible while Catholics do not? The an-
swer must be sought in the history of Lu-
ther's controversy with Catholicism.
Similarly, the Christians of the second
generation found themselves ordering their
communal life in certaiu ways, and the ques-
tions must often have arisen : " Why do we
do these things? " " Why are we Christians
baptized upon entering the Christian fellow-
ship? " " Why do we celebrate the first day
of the week as the Lord's Day, instead of
the seventh? " " Why do we not observe
the commands of the Mosaic law as our
Jewish brothers do? " " Why do we em-
12 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
phasize the Lord's Supper as a special mark
of our unity? " The need of answering such
questions stimulated the remembrance of
those events and teachings which would best
satisfy inquiring minds. For, not only
would Christians themselves ask each other
these things; non- Christian friends and op-
ponents would also ask them and an answer
must be had.
This situation accounts for much of the
material selected. That we have only a se-
lection is evident the moment we compare
the meagerness of our reports with the un-
doubted extent of Jesus' teaching and activ-
ity. The author of the Gospel of John is
fundamentally right when he says, with ap-
parent over-enthusiasm : " And there are
also many other things which Jesus did, the
which if they should be written every one, I
suppose that even the world itself would not
contain the books that should be written."
And so, in response to this need of ex-
planation, much was remembered and writ-
NEEDS GIVING RISE TO GOSPELS 13
ten down, among other things, about John
the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus, about
the teaching of Jesus concerning the Law,
and about his death and resurrection. Other
motives were operating too, as we shall see,
but the desire to understand and explain
present practice was certainly one.
Next, Menzies says : " Every religious
body is seeking constantly to defend itself
against attacks made on it from without."
We see this motive all about us; in all sorts
of organizations, religious and non-religious.
Every political party has its platform and,
in the heat of a campaign, arguments of all
sorts, good and bad, are brought forth to
demonstrate effectively the superiority of
one party and its principles over all other
parties and principles. Religions and re-
ligious sects adopt the same program. Not
so much as in bygone generations, perhaps,
for we have acquired manners and some wis-
dom. But a man must always stand up for
his ideas, if he is a 7nan, and so must relig-
14 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
ious organizations, if they still have any salt
in them.
Thus we have become familiar with Cath-
olic preachments on the authority of the
Church and Protestant insistence on the
Bible; with the Episcopalian defense of the
Apostolic Succession and the Baptist brief
for complete immersion. And current liter-
ature, especially religious literature, bears
the mark of these divisions and contentions.
One cannot read very far in any Gospel
without coming upon a passage that is evi-
dently aimed at somebody. The Book of
Matthew best exemplifies this. From be-
ginning to end it holds a brief for the the-
sis that Jesus' life completely fulfilled Old
Testament prophecy. In the first chapter
we read: " Now all this is come to pass, that
it might be fulfilled ...."; and so it
goes on to the very end of the Gospel where
we read : " Then was fulfilled that which
was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.
NEEDS GIVING RISE TO GOSPELS 15
It is clear that such arguments served to
confirm Christians in their own faith, but
they were inserted for the additional pur-
pose of convincing outsiders, objectors, and
enemies. This is evident not only from the
Gospels themselves but also because it is
quite in line with the reports we have
elsewhere of early Christian argumenta-
tion. This motive must have been especially
strong in every report that had to do with
Jesus' death. Paul tells us that the Cross
was " to the Jew a stumbling-block and to
the Greeks foolishness." This indifferent or
antagonistic attitude had to be overcome,
especially in regard to such a central fact as
the death of the Lord. And so, in the Book
of Acts, we find Peter wrestling with the
problem and, in Paul's writings, the solu-
tion of the difficulty occupies a large place.
It is inconceivable that this, and other
polemical matters, should not have influ-
enced both the form and the content of our
Gospels. These questions were insistent
16 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
because they were continually raised by
enemies who would not keep still. There
would be no better way of answering them
than by relating certain acts or sayings of
Jesus himself. This is, without doubt, one
of several reasons why so much space is
given to the details of Jesus' last days. We
may say, then, that much of our informa-
tion about Jesus is undoubtedly due to the
fact that questions in dispute caused certain
things to be emphasized and remembered
through the constant repetition of unavoid-
able argument.
Lastly, Professor Menzies says that every
religious body " is constantly compelled to
return to its source and to refresh itself at
the original truth which lies at its begin-
ning." This is the practical devotional de-
sire which seeks to keep the spirit of the or-
ganization free from contamination and dim-
inution. To employ once again a modern
political analogy, we see in this tendency the
very motive which impels us, as good Ameri-
NEEDS GIVING RISE TO GOSPELS 17
can citizens, to remind ourselves of Lincoln
and Washington, their spirit, service and
ideals. Just so has it been with Christianity
from the beginning. In the Book of Acts,
Paul exhorts the elders at Miletus " to help
the weak and to remember the words of the
Lord Jesus, that he himself said, * It is more
blessed to give than to receive.' " In I
Corinthians he endeavors to remedy abuses
that had crept into the celebration of the
Lord's Supper by reminding them of Jesus'
last supper with his disciples. The author
of the Epistle to the Hebrews urges his
hearers to " run with patience the race that
is set before us, looking unto Jesus the au-
thor and perfecter of our faith."
That the selection and remembrance of
most of our Gospel material was due, not to
motives of explanation or polemic, but to
that of practical inspiration and encourage-
ment, is undoubted. The story of the temp-
tation would be cherished for its practical
value, if for nothing else, witnessing that the
18 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
Lord " was touched with a feeling for our
infirmities." The Cross must have been held
up continually as an example of " patient
endurance unto the end." The Agony in the
Garden would point the way to a repetition,
under similar circumstances, of the prayer,
" Not my will, but thine be done." The
beautiful blending of patience and righteous
indignation, displayed in the Master's deal-
ings with the Pharisees, would help the dis-
ciples to maintain the proper spirit in their
own relations with the same enemies. Most
of the parables appealed to the apostolic
Christians, as to us, because they bear di-
rectly on the problem of daily living.
In conclusion, therefore, we may say with
complete conviction that our Gospels arose,
not because of a purely historical motive,
as we moderns understand that term, but
chiefly in response to these intensely practi-
cal needs. If we remember this fact, it
should help us greatly in estimating the his-
torical reUability of the accounts. Before
HOW THE GOSPELS AROSE 19
we do that, however, let us try to sketch the
probable process by which the Gospels came
into being.
How Did the Gospels Come into Be-
ing?
Jesus lived and taught. For at least
twenty-five or thirty years, probably, what
he had said and done was handed down
merely by word of mouth. In this period of
oral tradition, the motives already mentioned
played a deciding part in winnowing out
and shaping the reports. In the frequent
disputes of the early days, the disciples
would be continually asking: "What did
the Lord say? " and " What did the Lord
do? " Probably the sayings of Jesus were
recalled more often and more accurately
than his deeds.
At the same time, we must bear in mind
that his sayings were reported, now in Ara-
maic and now in Greek ; and probably, also,
in Latin. For this reason, among others,
20 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
the reports would vary in form and content
in different communities. This enables us
to understand partly the variant forms
of the same teaching in different Gospels.
Probably, although we cannot prove it, writ-
ten collections of sayings, or " logia," arose
in different places. Some of them would be
written in Aramaic, the language of Jesus
and of all his Jewish contemporaries; some
of them in Greek, the language which had
progressively dominated the then civilized
world, from the time of Alexander the
Great. These collections would be many
and different, meeting varied needs and re-
flecting differing remembrances of what
Jesus had said. It is possible, too, that
some of these writings contained accounts
of Jesus' deeds. Still, the teaching would
predominate in them.
The Logia of Matthew
The first extensive document of which we
know is the so-called " Logia-Document "
THE LOGIA OF MATTHEW 21
of Matthew, written in Aramaic and prob-
ably in the decade 60-70 a.d. This account
contained wholly, or at least chiefly, sayings
of Jesus. It is undoubtedly the document
referred to by Bishop Papias of the second
century in these words: "Matthew com-
posed the Logia in the Hebrew language
and every one interpreted them as best he
could."
It is probably due to the incorporation of
much of this teaching into the Gospel of
Matthew that the latter received Matthew's
name. The Gospel of Matthew was written
in Greek, and probably the " Logia-Docu-
ment " had already gone through several
editions in Greek before it was used by
the author of the first Gospel. Its trans-
lation into Greek at a very early date would
be just what we should expect from the prev-
alent use of the Greek language, even in
parts of Palestine. The author of Luke
also used the " Logia-Document," or rather
a Greek translation of it, and this explains
22 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
many of the agreements between the Gos-
pels of Matthew and Luke, which are largely
agreements in reports of Jesus' sayings.
But we are anticipating ourselves. Thus
far, we have simply the Aramaic document
of Matthew, containing chiefly teachings
of Jesus with, perhaps, some narrative of
events. This document has been translated
into Greek and is circulating in various edi-
tions, Aramaic and Greek, as Papias' state-
ment about " interpretation " may suggest.
None of our present Gospels, which were all
written in Greek from the first, are yet in
existence.
The Gospels
It is now commonly agreed that the Gos-
pel of Mark was the first of our existing
Gospels to be written. To quote Dr. Mc-
Giffert, this is " the first account of the deeds
of Jesus of which we have any explicit
information." Papias' testimony is again
valuable at this point. He says : " Mark,
THE GOSPELS 23
having become the interpreter of Peter,
wrote down accurately whatever he (Mark)
remembered of the things said or done by-
Christ, not however in order, for he had not
heard the Lord, nor had he followed him;
but afterward, as I said, he followed Peter,
who adapted his instructions to the needs of
those who heard him, but without attempt-
ing to give a connected account of the Lord's
utterances. So that Mark did not err when
he thus wrote some things down as he re-
membered them; for he was careful of one
thing — not to omit any of the things which
he had heard, nor to falsify anything in
them."
In estimating the value of this statement,
we must allow somewhat for Papias' own
views ; but, as Dr. McGiff ert says, " there
is no reason to doubt the general accuracy
of this report and there is no sufficient
ground for referring Papias' words to any
other work than our second Gospel." We
may say, then, that about the year 70 a.d.
24 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
Mark wrote the earliest of our Gospels, using
still earlier fragments and Petrine reminis-
cences. Whether Mark did, or did not,
know of the existence of the " Logia-Docu-
ment " is uncertain. At any rate, he prob-
ably did not use it, for his work is devoted
chiefly to the things which Jesus did.
The three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and
Luke, agree to a remarkable extent in con-
tent and in the order of presentation. It
is generally accepted that both later writers,
namely the authors of Matthew and of
Luke, knew and used the account which
Mark wrote or, at least, versions of it.
Hence the many parallel accounts in the
three Gospels, which often agree in the very
words used. We have already seen that
Matthew and Luke both made use of the
" Logia-Document." Hence, most of the
two latter gospels, Matthew and Luke, can
be explained by their use of these two main
sources of information.
Matthew and Luke, however, both con-
THE GOSPELS 25
tain an amount of material not traceable to
either of these two sources. This inde-
pendent material doubtless came either from
some of the written collections already
mentioned, or from oral tradition which, it
must be remembered, would not be seriously
diminished by the rise of written accounts.
That some process like this must be posited
is clear from the prologue of Luke. This
reads : " Forasmuch as many have taken in
hand to draw up a narrative concerning those
matters which have been fulfilled among us,
even as they delivered them unto us, who
from the beginning were eyewitnesses and
ministers of the word, it seemed good to me
also, having traced the course of all things
accurately from the first, to write unto thee,
in order, most excellent Theophilus, that
thou mightest know the certainty concern-
ing the things wherein thou wast instructed."
Whether Matthew was written before
Luke, or Luke before Matthew, is a matter
of dispute. We may say, however, that be-
26 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
tween the years 75 and 90 a.d., these two
Gospels, compiled in the manner described,
were added to the already existing Gospel
of Mark. Incorporating, as they did, prac-
tically all of the " Logia-Document," they
crowded the latter out of existence as an in-
dependent record.
Conservative and liberal critics alike agree
that the Gospel of John presents the life
of Jesus in a way peculiar to itself. There
are radical differences of opinion, however,
regarding its authorship and historical re-
liability. Even those who are most earnest
in support of the Johannine authorship and
of the complete historical reliability of the
book, grant that it is more subjective than
the other Gospels. On the other hand, most
of those who reject John's authorship con-
cede that a certain amount of new and in-
dependent historical information is con-
tained in it. All agree that it is the latest
of our four Gospels and that its author,
whether John or some other, knew, and used
THE GOSPELS 27
discriminatingly, the records already in ex-
istence. We cannot here examine the mass
of complicated evidence necessary to a
thorough discussion of the question. I can
only present what seems to me the most
probable view.
In the early years of the second century,
about 100-110 A.D., a Christian disciple, liv-
ing in western Asia Minor, and brought up
in the circle that seems to owe its inspira-
tion to the teaching of the apostle John,
wrote this treatise on the life of Christ. He
wrote it with particular reference to the
speculative thought that dominated that
region, due to the intermingling of Greek
and oriental influences. The work is pri-
marily interpretative, and the Philonic con-
ception of the "Logos" (Word) is inter-
woven with the historic life of Jesus of Naz-
areth from the famous prologue to the very
end. Besides the information drawn from
the Synoptics, there is probably a certain
amount of new and reliable historical mate-
28 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
rial secured by the author from some inde-
pendent source, possibly John the Apostle.
The record of the deeds and the discourses
of Jesus, however, is influenced by the evi-
dent purpose of the author to present a cer-
tain view of the Master. Thus the historical
reliability of the book is distinctly less than
that of the other Gospels. Besides its won-
derful inspirational character, it is, there-
fore, chiefly valuable for the light it throws
on the ideas current in this section of the
Christian church at the time. We must
therefore depend mainly upon the three Syn-
optic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke,
for our reliable historical information re-
garding the actual life of Jesus of Nazareth.
The question that concerns us most, and
which we are now prepared to answer, is
this : To what extent are these sources of in-
formation historically reliable?
RELIABILITY OF THE SOURCES 29
How Reliable Are These Sources?
Two answers we may reject at once: one
which says that all which is told us in the
Gospels is absolutely trustworthy; and the
other which says that none of it is to be de-
pended upon. Our answer must be one of
discrimination, by which we recognize that
the conditions under which the Gospels arose
laid them open to the probability of error;
and yet that these very conditions also
favored the permanent retention of a large
amount of historical fact.
There are four questions which give the
thoughtful man most concern. These are
the virgin birth ; the physical resurrection of
Jesus ; the miracles Jesus is said to have per-
formed; and finally, the question to what ex-
tent the ideas of the early Christians in-
fluenced their reports of Jesus' teaching.
These are large problems and in the meager
space at my disposal I cannot hope to dis-
30 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
cuss any one of them thoroughly. I may,
however, point the way to a solution and
also try to give a conclusion regarding the
reliability of our information as a whole.
The Virgin Birth of Jesus
It is interesting to note that the accounts
of Jesus' birth appear only in Matthew and
in Luke and that the two presentations are
not at all parallel. In fact, they agree
chiefly in the one central reference to the
birth itself ; the detailed stories go in diverse
directions. They may be complementary
but, at any rate, they are not parallel. In
certain respects they seem to be contradic-
tory, as in the genealogies and in the ac-
counts of the home of Jesus' parents. Ac-
cording to Luke, Joseph and Mary come to
Bethlehem from Nazareth where they had
previously lived; according to Matthew,
they appear to have taken up their abode
in Nazareth only after the return from
Egypt. I mention these things merely as
THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF JESUS 31
illustrative of some of the difficulties the ac-
counts themselves present.
Further, in the subsequent parts of these
two Gospels, there is no reference to the
wonderful origin of Jesus, and some pas-
sages appear to make against it. Mark
does not even hint at the event and, accord-
ing to this Gospel, Jesus' peculiar relation
to the Father seems to reach its culmination
at his baptism. John's explanation of the
unique relation of Jesus to God centers in the
idea of the Logos, a highly exalted, heavenly
being, though subordinate to God himself;
represented as " becoming flesh " without
any specification of the particular manner
in which this occurred. Paul, as is well
known, bases his thesis of the divinity of
Christ on the resurrection, and never refers
to the virgin birth, even in the second chap-
ter of Philippians, where it would be most
natural. The author of Hebrews conceives
of Jesus as " made perfect through suffer-
ing," with the Cross as the climax.
32 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
Besides these difficulties, inherent in the
New Testament writings, we to-day ap-
proach the question with a difficulty already
raised in our minds as a result of science.
Now, to be sure, biology cannot dispose of
this matter by curtly saying: " It could not
have been." No one can say: ''It could not
have been " ; but one may very pertinently
ask: " Was it a fact? " And the historical
evidence would have to be very clear and
strong to overcome the presumption biology
rolls up against it.
It is because the evidence is not clear and
strong that we must leave the matter in
abeyance, to say the least. Certainly we
should not stake our faith on a fact thus at-
tested. I may say here that, as a matter of
experience, we do not stake our faith on the
truth of these particular accounts. Our view
of Jesus, whatever it may be, is controlled
more by what he was in his own personality
and by what he became than by our conclu-
sions regarding the manner of his birth.
THE RESURRECTION 33
And, in view of the other New Testament
data, we may, perhaps, safely hold that the
virgin birth was but one way, among several,
by which the first Christians sought to ex-
plain what they already believed from their
own experience, namely, that Jesus was the
Son of God.
The Resurrection
The case lies differently with the second
question, that of the resurrection of Jesus.
Accounts of this event, more or less detailed,
appear in all four Gospels, in the Acts, and
in Paul's writings, not to mention references
in other New Testament books. All agree
in making this the starting-point of Chris-
tian communal activity. All agree in record-
ing it as an actual, personal experience of
many disciples, by which they were brought
into a real relation with Jesus after his death.
Once for all let it be said, it is historically
certain that Paul and the other disciples sin-
cerely believed that they had seen the risen
34 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
Lord; also, they were right in ascribing to
this experience, whatever it was, that awak-
ening of faith and enthusiasm out of which
historical Christianity sprang.
This is, perhaps, enough for us to main-
tain; but most of us cannot rest there. We
ask with insistence: " Were the disciples de-
luded? " or, " Was it a vision resulting from
their previous relation with the earthly Jesus
and constituting a natural reaction after the
shock of his death had passed? " " If it was
a real, objective appearance of Jesus, was it
physical and bodily, or spiritual and psy-
chic? "
The Gospel accounts puzzle us by their
mixture of physical and ghostly attributes.
At times, the writers seem to be anxious to
convince their readers that it was the fiesh-
and-blood Jesus who had risen; again, that
he had passed already into quite a different
order of existence. It is difficult to tell
whether the scene of these events was Gali-
lee, or Jerusalem, or both. Luke and Acts,
THE RESURRECTION 35
both by the same author, alone relate the
story of the ascension, a necessary event, of
course, if Jesus' appearances during the
forty days were real flesh-and- blood appear-
ances.
Paul is our earliest witness and his careful
account, in the fifteenth chapter of I Corin-
thians, is the best point of departure for a
study of the problem. He connects his own
experience with that of the earlier disciples
as of the same nature, insisting always that
it was a real appearance of the Lord. The
accounts of his conversion, in the Book of
Acts, also emphasize the objective reality of
the event but seem to favor a more spiritual
view than that offered by some of the Gospel
accounts. Paul's own words about the resur-
rection, in I Corinthians, where he distin-
guishes between the natural and the spiri-
tual body, also seem to favor a less material
explanation. Again, his whole theological
position seems to forbid the idea that the
physical body has anything to do with the
36 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
resurrected state ; in one place he goes so far
as to say, " flesh and blood cannot inherit
the Kingdom of God."
Here, too, we approach the problem with
a scientific presimiption against the physical
resurrection, at least. We also find the evi-
dence somewhat lacking in clearness and in
strength, though not so much as in the
former case. We must face the further fact
that the records of the lives of many great
religious heroes have undergone transforma-
tion, surrounding their real activity with a
fringe of physical miracle, especially at the
beginning and at the end. Our Gospel ac-
counts, as we have seen, were not so care-
fully compiled as to exclude the possibility
of such changes creeping into the Christian
tradition.
When all is said and done, however, the
extraordinary fact remains that Paul and
the other early disciples were transformed
by experiences which they believed to be ob-
jectively real manifestations of the risen
THE RESURRECTION 37
Lord. Science may cause us to pause be-
fore the more materialized accounts of the
Gospels, but she is, at present, rather more
favorable than otherwise to the possibility
of a distinct, personal, real and objective
appearance of Jesus' Spirit to his disciples
after his death. That Jesus personally sur-
vived his death, we must believe or deny the
heart of the Christian faith ; that, in his con-
tinued life, he influences his followers in one
way or another, we can easily believe: that
the spiritual, heavenly Lord appeared in a
real and objective, though non-physical, way
to the first disciples and to Paul, is by no
means impossible to hold ; that it was a flesh-
and-blood appearance seems improbable. In
any case, we have, from all this, added evi-
dence in support of the might of that per-
sonality whom we, following Thomas, may
call " my Lord and my God."
38 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
The Miracles
The question of the miracles is usually re-
duced to unreality by approaching it from
the standpoint of the omnipotence of God.
" God can do anything," it is said, " and
therefore he did this particular thing."
Similarly, the argument regarding the Gos-
pel miracles often runs, " Christ, as the Son
of God, was all-powerful, hence he could do
anything; hence he did this particular thing."
The only legitimate form in which our diffi-
culty may be phrased is not, " What might
have happened?" or, "What could hap-
pen?" but, "What did actually happen?"
We must, therefore, employ a fair but rigor-
ous historical method; try to establish the
probable facts ; finally, secure the most satis-
factory explanation. We see at once, there-
fore, that there is really little value in dis-
cussing miracles in general; what is needed
is a careful examination of the circumstances
of each individual case. Of course, we can-
THE MIRACLES 39
not do this here. Still, a few suggestions
may be helpful.
Physical science at once confronts us with
its laws; its repugnance toward the irregu-
lar; its presupposition that all could be ex-
plained if we only knew enough. Historical
science, also, brings to our attention the well-
known tendency of men to embellish the lives
of their heroes with fanciful tales of power ;
and in no sphere, naturally, more than in re-
ligious narrative. Our Gospel narratives did
not arise in such a way as to guarantee them
against this tendency ; hence our difficulty.
The practical thing to do, at the outset, is
to divide the accounts of Jesus' wonders into
classes, according to their degree of credi-
bility. We may thus distinguish three
classes, sufficiently distinct from one another
for purposes of discussion. Most easy to
believe are those relating to the casting-out
of demons and the healing of other disorders
more or less connected with the nervous sys-
tem. To be sure, the descriptions given usu-
40 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
ally force us to guess at the symptoms, and
still more, merely to guess at the nature of
the disease ; but the large number of cases of
demoniacal possession, and the other cases
that suggest nervous or mental disorder, be-
long to a class of pathological phenomena
quite familiar to us.
Modern investigation and experience have
proved that healing power is possessed by
certain persons in just such cases and also
that religious faith is a mighty factor in de-
termining the result. When we join to these
statements the fact that the accounts of such
healing activity by Jesus are so interwoven
with the record of his teaching that we can-
not discredit one without discrediting the
other, we can easily come to the conclusion
that Jesus actually did many such things and
that these accounts are essentially true, even
though descriptive and interpretative details
must occasionally be left on one side.
The second class of Gospel wonders, ac-
cording to degree of credibility, would com-
THE MIRACLES 41
prise the healing of diseases, or of malforma-
tions, not directly connected with the nervous
system ; such as the healing of lepers, of blind
and of lame men. These are clearly less easy
to believe because we know from experience
that such things are more in bond to the
physical order and less under the influence of
a mental state. We must exercise care, how-
ever. Remarkable cures in modern times, at
such places as Lourdes in France, have been
witnessed and tested by unbiased, and even
antagonistic, physicians. In the light of
their testimony we cannot be too skeptical
regarding the reach and power of mind, es-
pecially where religious faith enters in. At
no time since the beginnings of modem sci-
ence has it been easier to spread the mantle
of faith over at least a part of this large class
of Gospel story. Each case, however, must
be sifted and weighed independently and
conclusions are bound to vary.
The last class is that of purely physical
wonder; such as stilling the tempest, walk-
42 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
ing on the water, turning water into wine,
and the raising of Lazarus. It is to such
things alone, as a matter of fact, that the
term miracle, in its rightful sense, properly
applies; and it is undoubtedly these that
give us our greatest difficulty. The only
way by which a modern man can come to be-
lieve these things is by attaining to such a
faith in the unique power of Jesus, on other
grounds, that he is able and willing to ex-
tend that power over such phenomena also.
In so doing, he would have to triumph over
certain very stubborn objections: the pre-
sumption raised by modern science ; the fre-
quency of such stories in the accounts of the
lives of other religious leaders; Jesus' own
words regarding " signs and wonders " ; the
circumstances under which the Gospels
arose, not only allowing, but even favoring,
exaggeration and fanciful creation in this
particular. We may approach the problem
with ease of mind, however, remembering
that none of these stories is really essential
THE MIRACLES 48
to our historical picture of Jesus, or to our
fundamental Christian faith.
It is not strange that the question of mir-
acle has been the storm-center of theological
controversy. The protagonists of miracle
have sensed clearly the inevitable result of
part, at least, of the activity of their oppo-
nents. That result would be the elimination
of the idea of and belief in the supernatural
in any form. On the other hand, the zeal of
many defenders of the faith has outrun their
knowledge and discretion. They have iden-
tified belief in God's direct and benign deal-
ings with men with belief in physical mira-
cle, or with belief in biblical miracles per se.
Many of us are deeply interested in main-
taining a vital faith in the supernatural; a
vital faith in God's direct and benign deal-
ings with men. We are also interested in
resisting any unjustifiable encroachment of
science upon the peculiar territory of re-
ligion. These very reasons should make us
equally keen to detect unfair religious en-
44 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
croachments upon the field of science. They
should make us keen to reject the false iden-
tification of belief in the supernatural with
either belief in physical miracle or belief in
biblical miracles per se.
The Teaching of Jesus
The last historical question we must an-
swer has to do with the reliability of the ac-
counts of Jesus' teaching. While his teach-
ing would probably be more accurately re-
membered and recorded than his deeds, we
cannot but ask whether the ideas of the Jew-
ish and gentile Christians, through whom
the traditions had to go, affected the ac-
counts to any extent. These men believed
intensely in the near approach of the King-
dom, at the second coming of Christ; they
believed in Jesus as the Messiah and sought
to prove his messiahship from the Old Testa-
ment; they believed that the death of Jesus
had some connection with salvation from sin
and wrath ; and they held the resurrection to
THE TEACHING OF JESUS 45
be the central fact of their religion. In all
these things, they thought and had to think
in accordance with the current conceptions
of their day.
It is apparent at once that, granted
the existence of certain views in the early
Church, there would be a natural tendency to
seek in Jesus* teaching the justification of
those views; to interpret neutral sayings in
a favorable way ; to pass over into conscious,
or unconscious modification of the tradition
itself. The parts of Jesus' teaching espe-
cially open to such processes are those where
Jesus speaks of his peculiar relation to God ;
those in which the coming of the Kingdom is
pictured in terms very like the ordinary Jew-
ish conception — a Kingdom soon to be set up
by wonderful, supernatural means and ac-
companied by signs and portents; finally,
those passages in which Jesus foretells, and
even hints at the significance of, his death
and resurrection. In other words the prob-
lem is: "What did Jesus teach about the
46 SOURCE OF OUR INFORMATION
nature of the Kingdom of heaven and its es-
tablishment? " and, " What did he teach con-
cerning his own Person? "
In the present state of the problem, I do
not see that we can make our answer as ex-
plicit as we should like. Doubtless in these
and in other passages Jesus' words have
been somewhat altered in transmission. On
the other hand, the historical student and
" the man on the street " will not go far
wrong if they formulate, as the correct his-
torical fact, the general impression of Je-
sus' teaching which even a cursory reading
of the Gospels may give. In other words,
whether Jesus himself taught, or did not
teach, the speedy, miraculous coming of the
Kingdom, the general character and quality
of that Kingdom are perfectly evident from
a host of references. And it is not so essen-
tial as many think to know what Jesus
taught regarding himself. In spite of all
negative criticism, we have an historical pic-
ture of Jesus' life and of its beneficent re-
THE TEACHING OF JESUS 47
suits which, in the long run, will control our
estimate of him, regardless of his own self-
witness.
The Gospels, like other documents of the
past, must be examined according to strict
historical methods. So examined, we find
the material they contain varying in histori-
cal value. The elimination of certain ac-
counts as untrue and the shelving of others
as open to question do not deprive the docu-
ments of their priceless historical worth.
Compared with other records of antiquity,
they stand out as unusual examples of his-
torically reliable writing and from them we
can secure all the information that is practi-
cally necessary regarding the life, teaching
and personality of Jesus of Nazareth.
CHAPTER II
THE LIFE OF JESUS
For the intelligent layman the problems
raised by biblical criticism become most acute
when they concern the Gospels and the life
of Christ. Many easily grant the necessity
and value of applying critical tests to the
Old Testament but shrink from applying
them to the Gospels. This hesitation is nat-
ural and deserves consideration but it is none
the less mistaken. The historical method is
only " trained and informed common-sense,"
and those who use it seek the truth just as
we all seek it in our every-day experience,
only less crudely. There is no reason why
the Gospels should be exempt from such a
method of investigation; in fact, there is
48
THE LIFE OF JESUS 49
every reason why they should not be. If it
is in them that we find the touchstone of our
destiny, then it is incumbent upon us to
make sure what that touchstone really is.
Historical criticism, applied to the Gos-
pels and to the life of Christ, has achieved
results which are sure and extensive enough
to satisfy fair-minded men. Extremists of
both camps will doubtless continue to wage
war, but the " man in the street " is in a mood
to cry, " A plague on both your houses."
Even when he does not know very much
about it he suspects that everything cannot
be accepted; he also suspects that the truth
is not along the path of sweeping denial.
These suspicions turn to convictions when
he seriously studies the question.
With this mood upon us, therefore, let us
try to set forth the probable course of Jesus'
life. Criticism, with all its detail of analysis,
comparison, inference and construction, is
here assumed. Many incidents, true and im-
portant, will not be mentioned, for our aim
60 THE LIFE OF JESUS
is not a " life " but a brief sketch. The na-
ture and content of Jesus' teaching, as such,
will not be discussed. All these important
matters must here be subordinated to the
main aim which is to answer the question,
" In the light of modem criticism, what is
reasonably certain regarding the general
course of Jesus' life? "
The Early Influences Under Which
Jesus Lived
The historian does not ask, " How might
Jesus have been born? " nor, " How must
he have been born?" but simply "Under
what circumstances was he born?" Our
sources of information do not enable us to
answer explicitly. It is not clear just when
he was born, nor where, nor under what cir-
cumstances. It is certain that this signifi-
cant event in the history of mankind oc-
curred near the end of the reign of Herod
the Great, somewhere in what we now call
Palestine. It is not unlikely that he was the
EARLY INFLUENCES 61
son of Joseph and Mary and that he was
born in Nazareth of Galilee.
Concerning the days of his youth and
young manhood, we have no clear informa-
tion. The story of his visit to Jerusalem at
the age of twelve (Luke 2: 39-52) may not
be historical, but it is certainly in keeping
with any inferences that may fairly be drawn
from his later development. If we are to re-
construct any picture of this period of Jesus'
life, it must be by means of such inference
and a few initial facts afforded us by the
Gospels.
Flowing out of the past, from the Old
Testament and especially from the prophets,
streams of influence poured in upon him,
through the channels of home and syna-
gogue. In his reported teaching Jesus men-
tions by name Noah, Solomon, David, Eli-
jah, Elisha, Jonah and the Queen of Sheba,
and there are many other references which
prove that he knew the Old Testament
thoroughly. Whatever else we may or may
52 THE LIFE OF JESUS
not believe regarding his conception of him-
self, we are constrained to hold that he con-
sidered his life and teaching the consumma-
tion of Old Testament prophecy, and that
he builded consciously on the basis of truth
the prophets had already laid down.
Regarding his early environment, we
know that he had four brothers and at least
two sisters, and it is probable that he learned
the trade of his father, who was a master-
builder in Nazareth. He must have been in-
timately acquainted with the simple, homely
things of life and cognizant of all phases
of the common lot of the Jews of his day.
Though probably not intimate with the rich,
his experience was doubtless not confined to
Nazareth and its village folk. It is quite
likely that our mental picture should include
visits to Jerusalem and to the larger towns
of Galilee where Greco-Roman culture had
considerable standing. The Jewish scribes
undoubtedly influenced him positively as
well as negatively, for, while he rejected
EARLY INFLUENCES 63
the rabbinical system absolutely, there were
broad-minded exponents of rabbinism, like
Rabbi Hillel, whose loftier teaching was not
unlike that of Jesus himself.
It is only fair to assume that these he-
reditary and environmental forces imparted
form as well as content to Jesus' expanding
thought, but they do not explain his exalted
personality. Every life is more or less a
mystery, but such a life is supremely mys-
terious because it is a supremely new crea-
tion. In ways that we cannot fathom, Jesus
experienced during these formative years a
new relationship to God. His religious con-
sciousness was maturing along lines which
constituted a new departure in man's re-
ligious history. Fused with this fundamen-
tal element of his life, there arose within him
a new understanding of man's real nature
and of his proper relationship to his fel-
lowman, a new ethical consciousness. The
range, quality and significance of this new
life within him could not fail to produce a
54 THE LIFE OF JESUS
peculiar self-consciousness ; a realization that
he, the bearer of these new spiritual gifts,
stood in a peculiar relation to the Father and
to his fellowmen.
This new consciousness — religious, ethi-
cal, personal — whose development in Jesus
we can trace historically, though with ex-
treme meagerness, may constitute for us the
center and source of our belief in the saving
revelation of God to man. Thus " historical
development " and " divine revelation " be-
come, to this extent, counterparts. And
thus, also, this unique development of the
consciousness of Jesus constitutes his divin-
ity. The Christ-consciousness compels us to
cry out, "What is this, if not divine?"
" Whence is this, if not from God? "
We are obliged to postulate such an inner
development in the days of Jesus' youth and
young manhood, else his later life becomes
an entire enigma. With charming charac-
terization, the Gospel of Luke reflects the
similar judgment of the early Church:
THE MESSIANIC CALL 55
" And the child grew and waxed strong in
spirit " (Luke 1 : 80) . Again: " And Jesus
advanced in wisdom and stature and in favor
with God and men" (Luke 2:52).
The Call to the Messianic Life
That John the Baptist preceded Jesus,
baptized him, and in more essential ways
prepared the way for him, is certain. That
he sustained such a conscious relation to
Jesus as the Gospels of Matthew and John
record is improbable. John was largely
the product of Old Testament prophecy and
of the Jewish messianic hope of the Roman
period. The latter gave him a hearing, the
former gave him his hold. There is ample
ground for the estimate of him pronounced
by Jesus and treasured by Christians ever
since. He stirred the religious and ethical
consciousness of the people so that they were
more ready for Jesus' appeal. He gathered
around him a group of adherents who were
thus prepared to become Jesus' chief sup-
56 THE LIFE OF JESUS
porters. He inaugurated the rite of baptism
which, with him, differed from all previously
known religious lustrations and furnished
the basis for later Christian practice. Fi-
nally, he baptized Jesus himself.
The nature of the baptismal accounts and
the testimony of the later parts of the Syn-
optic Gospels warrant our holding that,
at his baptism, Jesus had an unusual inner
experience which determined his whole after-
life. It is not strange that his sensitive and
ever-expanding consciousness should have
recognized in the mission of John a pecu-
liar significance. The previous development
in Jesus' inner life would lead him to sym-
pathize with John's movement and, with
others, to join it through the rite of baptism.
This notable event seems to have brought his
developing experience to a focus and to
have given him divine assurance of the right-
ness and reality of his own relation to God
and to man. It convinced him that in his
own life lay the hope of men, and naturally,
THE MESSIANIC CALL 57
being a Jew of his own time, he associated
his experience and work with the messianic
idea and began to think of himself, probably,
as Messiah. This would mean that he con-
sidered himself the chief messenger of God
to man. The ultimate validity of this con-
viction and its significance for us depend
upon the nature and significance of his whole
life. That alone can prove to us that his
lofty self -consciousness was justified. Jesus
probably did not relate these experiences till
later in his life, and then only to his closest
friends. If this is true, the externalized fea-
tures of the baptismal accounts in Matthew
and in Luke must be considered unhistori-
cal.
The gaining of any new height of achieve-
ment carries with it peculiar perils, and the
application of new truth to a work-a-day
world presents subtle temptations. The
temptation which presented itself to Jesus
at this time arose from these two psycho-
logical conditions. The parabolic accounts
58 THE LIFE OF JESUS
given us by Matthew and Luke really re-
volve about the one thought of compromise.
" Yield the truth a bit in order to get men
to take it." That there was not merely one
period of temptation we should have to as-
sume, even if we did not have the story of
the Agony in the Garden. With the author
of the Epistle to the Hebrews we can be sure
that Jesus was " one that hath been in all
points tempted." But, doubtless, the glory
of the baptismal experience was followed by
a correspondingly searching trial. Old Tes-
tament passages came to his aid. The re-
membrance of the recent vision was fresh
upon him and girded the loins of his will.
These things, together with his now vivid
sense of a present Father able to help, car-
ried him through the first great test to a life
of victory over all subsequent temptations,
even those of the last excruciating days.
Back of the accounts lies no external strug-
gle, nor yet a mere phantom of early inter-
pretation. It was a real but inward event
CHRONOLOGY 59
which Jesus probably related to his disciples
at a later time in parabolic terms. Jesus
now stands at the threshold of his life-work.
The Chronology of the Ministry
The scene and length of Jesus' activity
cannot be accurately determined. The in-
sufficiency of our sources of information
leaves these matters in the twilight. Whether
his ministry lasted one year or three, we can-
not say. How much time he spent in Gali-
lee, Perea, Samaria and Judea, respectively,
we cannot tell. It is certain that until the
last days he was chiefly in Galilee. But he
spent some time in Perea also and un-
doubtedly visited Samaria. It is probable,
also, that he went to Judea and Jerusalem
during his ministry, that is, before the final
journey that ended with his death. It is
Galilee, however, which looms largest in our
records, then Jerusalem in the last days and,
to a lesser degree, Perea.
60 THE LIFE OF JESUS
The Eakly Preaching
We ai'e told that he began in Gahlee to
preach the " gospel of the Kingdom." What
that " Good News " was we shall not discuss
here. The effect of his preaching was,
at first, a general impression of authority.
Mark says: "And they were astonished at
his teaching; for he taught them as having
authority, and not as the scribes." This, of
course, was not any external or official au-
thority. The scribes possessed that sort of
authority and they had been weighed in the
balance and found wanting. Nor was it
merely because he considered himself to be
the Messiah. It was because he was what he
was.
Besides preaching, Jesus certainly per-
formed acts of healing, chiefly on those who
thought themselves possessed by demons.
He doubtless healed other disorders and dis-
eases also. The motive of this activity was
not the exhibition of power for the sake of
EARLY PREACHING 61
proving his messiahship, or his divinity, as
the Fourth Gospel pictures it. At this time,
at least, he kept to himself his thoughts of
himself and he discouraged his followers
from giving an undue prominence either to
his works or to himself. The motive back of
this, as of all his activity, was that of love,
and Matthew is right in quoting in this con-
nection a passage from Second Isaiah (Isa.
53: 4) : " Himself took our infirmities and
bare our sicknesses."
The result of all this teaching and of his
many deeds of kindness, evidencing his great
love of his fellows, was an unbounded popu-
larity. He was not thereby deceived, how-
ever. He knew that the real advance of the
Kingdom whose interests he had at heart
was taking place only slowly and in varying
degrees. The parable of the Sower reveals
this. " Behold, the sower went forth to sow ;
and as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way-
side, and the birds came and devoured them :
and others fell on the rocky places, where
62 THE LIFE OF JESUS
they had not much earth; and straightway
they sprang up, because they had no deep-
ness of earth; and when the sun was risen,
they were scorched; and because they had
no root, they withered away. And others
fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up
and choked them; and others fell upon the
good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hun-
dred fold, some sixty, some thirty" (Matt.
13: 3-9) . He knew that the hold he had on
the many was too slight to keep them from
losing interest when difficulties arose.
Early Difficulties
These difficulties soon came, for Jesus'
plain speaking quickly aroused the opposi-
tion of the rabbis and brought about the
great conflict which culminated at the Cross.
In Mark 3: 6 we read: " And the Pharisees
went forth and straightway took counsel
with the Herodians against him, how they
might destroy him." John 6 : 66 accurately
represents the effect of this opposition upon
DIFFICULTIES ARISE 63
the mass of his following in words which,
however, are given a different historical set-
ting: " From that time many of his dis-
ciples went back and walked no more with
him." Mark 7:24 describes the effect on
Jesus' own plans : " And from thence he
arose and went into the borders of Tyre and
Sidon [that is, outside the immediate sphere
of the rabbis' influence] and entered into an
house, and would have no man know it." In
short, the rabbis effectually stopped Jesus'
extended public activity in Galilee and
obliged him to withdraw to quieter scenes
with a small band of devoted disciples.
Jesus now realizes clearly the necessity
of intensive work with the few instead of ex-
tensive work with the many. He rightly es-
timates the final result of the rabbinical cam-
paign against him and begins to forecast
the final issue. Either they must change, or
he must yield, or he must die. That they
would change he knew to be most improb-
able, that he should yield was impossible.
64 THE LIFE OF JESUS
He must have seen, therefore, that his death
was inevitable and he must have begun, at
least, to work out the reasonableness of it in
order to bring it into harmony with his idea
of God and with his own relation to the
Father. Thoughts like that of Mark 10: 45
must have been in his mind increasingly:
*' For even the Son of Man came not to be
ministered unto, but to minister and to give
his life a ransom for many." We do not
know how far Jesus went toward a solution
of the problem of the Cross and he leaves us
free to form our own theories of it. The
Gospels support the conclusion to which our
natural inferences would lead. He at least
submitted to his fate, believing it to be the
will of God and believing, also, that his
death would, in some way, advance the in-
terests of the Kingdom.
For a time he kept all these thoughts to
himself. The disciples were not prepared to
understand or to endure them. Weeks of
close intercourse, however, in these days of
CAESAREA PHILIPPI 66
comparative retirement, must have enlight-
ened their minds and strengthened their
wills. At any rate, at the end of his sojourn
in the northern districts, Jesiis seems to have
broken to them his dire forebodings. In
Mark, these teachings do not appear until
the time of Peter's confession, and the psy-
chological situation makes this view of the
matter so fitting that we may conclude that
any contrary representation found in the
other Gospels is due to unhistorical transpo-
sition or to later reflection.
The Change at Caesarea Philippi
Peter's confession came as a result of the
close association with Jesus during the days
of retirement in the north, and it was evi-
dently of great significance both to Jesus and
to his disciples. The Markan account (Mark
8:27-30) reads: "And Jesus went forth,
and his disciples into the villages of Caesarea
Philippi: and on the way he asked his dis-
ciples, saying unto them, ' Who do men say
66 THE LIFE OF JESUS
that I am ? ' And they told him, saying,
'John the Baptist; and others, Ehjah; but
others, one of the Prophets.' And he asked
them, ' But who say ye that I am ? ' Peter
answereth and saith unto him, ' Thou art
the Christ.' And he charged them that they
should tell no man of him." In John, this
important event is given another historical
setting and the passage shows signs of the
author's peculiar viewpoint, but the essential
content is the same: " Upon this many of
his disciples went back, and walked no more
with him. Jesus said therefore unto the
twelve, ' Would ye also go away? ' Simon
Peter answered him, ' Lord, to whom shall
we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life,
and we have believed and know that thou art
the Holy One of God ' " (John 6: 66-69) .
Jesus felt that he had been deserted by all
but the very few. If they did not maintain
their faith in him, no one would. There was
great risk in thus forcing the issue but he
accepted it. Great souls must always take
TEACHING REGARDING FUTURE 67
chances and cast the die. The test was suc-
cessful. He was able to clinch their faith in
him, temporarily at least. This partially
fortified them against the difficulties of the
teaching he was about to give them, and
of the heart-searching experiences through
which they were all so soon to go.
Jesus' Expectation of Death and
Resurrection
According to Mark and the other Syn-
optic Gospels which follow Mark's order of
events, immediately after Peter's confession
Jesus began to emphasize the suffering and
death to come. In Mark 8 : 31-37 we read :
" And he began to teach them, that the Son
of Man must suffer many things, and be
rejected by the elders, and the chief priests,
and the scribes, and be killed, and after three
days rise again. And he spake the saying
openly. And Peter took him, and began to
rebuke him. But he, turning about, and see-
ing his disciples, rebuked Peter, and saith.
68 THE LIFE OF JESUS
* Get thee behind me, Satan; for thou mind-
est not the things of God, but the things of
men.' And he called unto him the multitude
with his disciples, and said unto them, ' If
any man would come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross and follow
me. For whosoever would save his life shall
lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for
my sake and the gospel's shall save it. For
what doth it profit a man, to gain the whole
world, and forfeit his life ? For what should
a man give in exchange for his life?
To this passage we may add Mark 9 : 9-
10 : *' And as they were coming down from
the mountain, he charged them that they
should tell no man what things they had seen,
save when the Son of Man should have risen
again from the dead. And they kept the
saying, questioning among themselves what
the rising again from the dead should mean."
Also, Mark 9:31-32: "For he taught his
disciples, and said unto them, ' The Son of
Man is delivered up into the hands of men.
TEACHING REGARDING FUTURE 69
and they shall kill him ; and when he is killed,
after three days he shall rise again.' " And
Mark 10:33-34: "Behold, we go up to
Jerusalem; and the Son of Man shall be de-
livered unto the chief priests and the scribes ;
and they shall condemn him to death, and
shall deliver him unto the Gentiles : and they
shall mock him, and shall spit upon him,
and shall scourge him, and shall killJiim; and
after three days he shall rise again." And
finally, Mark 10: 45, already quoted: " For
the Son of Man also came not to be minis-
tered unto, but to minister, and to give his
life a ransom for many."
We must bear in mind, in using these
passages, the probability of their reflecting
in part the views of a later time when the
death and resurrection of Jesus had acquired
paramount importance and a more definite
significance. It seems to me, however, that
we may fairly conclude from them that
Jesus spoke of his death at this time and
that he considered it God's will for him.
70 THE LIFE OF JESUS
The fifty-third chapter of Isaiah would
help him reach the conclusion that suffering
belonged to the Messiah's part. His death
would thus present itself to him as the logi-
cal outcome, under the circumstances, of his
life-principle of love and service and also,
probably, as a means of blessing to many.
We should have to assume the rise in his
mind of thoughts like these, had we no ref-
erences at all purporting to give his direct
teaching.
Similarly, with regard to the specific say-
ings referring to his resurrection, it may be
that these verses merely record what, in the
light of their experiences, later disciples
thought he must have said. Doubtless the
definiteness of some of the statements is due
to this fact. But, on the other hand, Jesus*
own thought must have run out beyond his
death. His faith in the Father and in the
supreme worth of his own life and mission
would not allow him to stop there. Further-
more, it is inconceivable that he would im-
TEACHING REGARDING FUTURE 71
part to his followers his innermost fears re-
garding the end of his life and work without
communicating to them also whatever he
had within him of faith, hope and encour-
agement. We may not know just what he
thought or said. But that he himself antic-
ipated his death, without anticipating any-
thing more, is out of keeping with what we
know of him. And that he consciously led
his disciples to anticipate his death, without
leading them any further into paths of
faith and hope, is equally out of keeping.
In John 14:16-20 we read: "And I
will pray the Father and he shall give you
another Comforter, that he may be with you
forever, even the Spirit of truth: whom the
world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him
not, neither knoweth him : ye know him : for
he abideth with you, and shall be in you. I
will not leave you desolate: I come unto
you. Yet a little while, and the world be-
holdeth me no more; but ye behold me:
because I live, ye shall live also. In that
72 THE LIFE OF JESUS
day ye shall know that I am in my Father,
and ye in me, and I in you." These words of
the author of the Fourth Gospel represent
for me what must actually have been the
essential trend of Jesus' thought at this time
and, as I have already indicated, what he
himself thought he must, under the circum-
stances, have communicated to his disciples
in some form or other.
Back of the transfiguration story, in spite
of its evident embellishments, there may lie
a real experience of an exalted nature —
an experience which Jesus shared with his
closest friends, growing out of the kind
of conversation that was now uppermost
with them. The accounts which we have of
the event connect it with this point in Jesus'
life, and with the very circle of thought we
have just been considering. Such an ex-
perience must have led to a further strength-
ening of the faith of the three disciples
immediately concerned — Peter, James, and
John. If these inferences are at all warrant-
JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 73
able, we have here another example of the
intensive effort Jesus now felt called upon
to put forth that his work might survive his
impending death.
The Last Journey to Jerusalem
With such heartening memories Jesus
" sets his face toward Jerusalem." His state
of mind seems to have been one of exalta-
tion tinged, however, with natural forebod-
ings. In Mark 10: 32 we read: " And they
were on the way, going up to Jerusalem;
and Jesus was going before them: and they
were amazed; and they that followed were
afraid. And he took again the twelve, and
began to tell them the things that were to
happen unto him." Here we see Jesus,
brave, hopeful and even triumphant, march-
ing through Perea beyond Jordan, with
Jerusalem as his goal, " knowing the things
that should befall him there."
Mark, our earliest source, indicates that
74 THE LIFE OF JESUS
in this brief period before the end, Jesus
again engaged in more public activity. Mark
10:1 reads: "And he arose from thence,
and Cometh into the borders of Judea and
beyond the Jordan: and multitudes come
together unto him again; and, as he was
wont, he taught them again." Mark as-
signs to this period a considerable amount
of undoubtedly genuine teaching. Luke
gathers together at this point a much larger
amount of Jesus' teaching, drawn partly
from the " Logia-Document " and partly
from his own independent sources ( cf . Luke,
chaps. 9-18). Luke's arrangement here is
undoubtedly topical because Matthew gives
many parallels to these sections of Luke,
but places them in different historical set-
tings. The common idea of Jesus' " Perean
ministry," so-called, is drawn from Luke
and therefore needs to be modified by the
considerations just mentioned; but, it is
undoubtedly a fact that Jesus repeated in
Perea, though in smaller degree, the public
THE LAST WEEK 76
activity which marked his earher work in
Galilee.
The Last Week in Jerusalem
A few short crowded days in the Jew-
ish capital, and the machinations of the lead-
ers of his people were crowned with success.
Jesus was tried, tortured and executed.
Out of the many events and voluminous
teaching of these last days many of our most
precious Gospel traditions come. To be
sure, accretions have crept into the teach-
ing and incidents have been added without
warrant. A simple parting-meal has been
started on its course of transformation into
a miraculous mystery, and in the Fourth
Gospel Jesus is represented discoursing in
the terms of Alexandrian philosophy. In
general, however, the tradition is sound and
we get a more detailed picture of Jesus here
than at any other point in his life. To re-
produce this picture would transgress the
limits of our space and is hardly necessary.
76 THE LIFE OF JESUS
A few illustrations will bring to mind the
exceptional quantity and quality of Jesus'
activity in these days.
In spite of the plots of his enemies, he
received homage in private from individuals,
and in public from the many, especially
from the provincials thi-onging to the Pass-
over. The story of the " Anointing at Beth-
any " and the main facts of the " Triumphal
Entry " are undoubtedly historical. After
his Galilean and Perean triumphs, he would
naturally be the center of attention at the
great feast and would arouse enthusiasm
among the many representatives from these
provinces. The latter story has doubtless
been embellished, however, to make it fit
into Old Testament prophecy. Similarly,
the story of the " Cursing of the Fig Tree "
is probably an example of the development
of a parable into a miracle.
One of the most interesting phases of the
last week of Jesus' life is his direct clash
with the authorities. We feel the thrill that
THE LAST WEEK 77
manifestations of righteous indignation al-
ways cause, and we get a new conception
of the way in which virihty and loving-kind-
ness may be united in the harmony of a
single ideal. According to the Gospel of
John, Jesus began his work with the so-
called " Cleansing of the Temple," and we
therefore usually assume that there were two
occasions on which Jesus performed this act.
Undoubtedly the Synoptics are right in
placing this striking event at the end of
Jesus' life, and the author of John has trans-
ferred it to the beginning for some reason of
his own.
The questions put to Jesus by the Jewish
leaders are just what we should expect from
the rabbis in their effort to secure some basis
for a valid charge against the Galilean. The
only result of their questions has been to
provide us with a permanent proof not only
of Jesus' superior moral insight but also of
his great intellectual acumen. These ques-
tions and answers paved the way naturally
78 THE LIFE OF JESUS
for a final invective on the part of Jesus
against rabbinism and against its repre-
sentatives. Seldom have men been so scath-
ingly and yet so justly excoriated. " Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which
outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly
are full of dead men's bones, and of all un-
cleanness. Even so ye also appear righteous
unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hy-
pocrisy and iniquity " (Matt. 23: 27-28).
How much of the reported discourses
about the coming of the Kingdom (Matt.,
chap. 24; Mark, chap. 13; Luke, chap. 21)
comes from Jesus, and how much from early
Christian tradition, is impossible to say.
Doubtless Jesus discussed these subjects at
length with his disciples, especially at the
close of his life, but we cannot be sure of the
nature of these discussions.
It would seem as if the Fourth Gosperc
account of the " Last Supper " were more
true to fact than the accounts given by the
THE LAST WEEK 79
other three. John relates the circumstances
very simply and joins with the account of
the Supper itself that of the symbolic act of
" Jesus Washing the Disciples' Feet." The
Synoptics append to the record of the
customary meal, with its discussion of " the
Betrayal," an account of the special insti-
tution by Jesus of an unusual rite, symbolic
of his death and of its religious significance.
The Synoptic account is probably influenced
by later ideas, but in any case the last meal
of the disciples with Jesus must have been
impressive and significant both to them and
to him.
But we must not follow the details fur-
ther. Jesus maintained his cause to the
very end, battling in virile fashion against
the enemies from without and against those
" that were of his own household." His fol-
lowers were evidently always in his thought
and he spent much time preparing them for
the inevitable outcome. He himself turned
continually to the Father in the spirit of the
80 THE LIFE OF JESUS
garden prayer, " Not my will, but thine, be
done." Jesus' death has been theologized
out of all true perspective. The unalterable
fact that it was the climax of his life of love
and service has thereby been attested, but
often in unmeaning, if not actually illogical
and anti-ethical, terms. We do not have to
be trained theologians to understand either
the necessity of the Cross or its main signifi-
cance. The essential values of this supreme
event lie near the surface, but they also run
down deep into the very heart of the mean-
ing of hfe.
The Resurrection
We must now endeavor to estimate the
significance of the resurrection stories. The
signs and portents, the empty grave, the defi-
nite period of three days, the physical ap-
pearances, the forty-day period and the as-
cension— all these phenomena are definitely
bound up with a physical explanation of the
resurrection. As we have seen, the diffi-
THE RESURRECTION 81
culties in the way of this explanation point
to the improbability of its being the true
one. If so, then we have to choose between
two other theories. The first is that of an
objectively real, but non-physical, mani-
festation of the spirit of Jesus to the disci-
ples. This theory is comparatively easy to
grasp, provided one grants the possibility
of such an objective, spiritual appearance,
but it does not allow much room for the
psychological element which many feel must
always be given a prominent place in the
explanation of any religious phenomenon.
However, such activities as those of the
Society for Psychical Research are symp-
tomatic of present-day open-mindedness in
this direction, even in scientific circles. In
fact, there is no insuperable difficulty in the
way of the modern man who inclines to the
acceptance of this explanation. On the con-
trary, certain tendencies in modern psychol-
ogy and philosophy pave the way to such a
belief.
82 THE LIFE OF JESUS
The second theory would necessitate an
explanation something like this: Jesus' im-
partation of spiritual life to his followers,
especially to the receptive and impression-
able Peter, was too gi'eat to be wiped out
even by so paralyzing and unintelligible a
calamity as his death. Certain words of
Jesus, conveying hope at a time when all
seemed dark, would linger in the mind. It
may also be that these words expressed a
belief in a speedy return and establishment
of the Kingdom. After the first despair, due
to Jesus' departure, the new life they pos-
sessed from him was brought to a focus
by their return to Galilee, and possibly, also,
by definite forecasts of their Master. It then
produced in these men, of an age, race and
clime predisposing them to such things, and
fijst of all in Peter, whose individual tem-
perament was most favorable to such impres-
sions, a series of " visions." These were in-
ner, spiritual experiences, easily propagated
from individual to individual, and from in-
THE RESURRECTION 83
dividuals to groups. Thus they spread,
probably from Peter first, as the records all
suggest, and in every case colored, most nat-
urally, by the content of Jesus' personality
by which their lives were dominated.
On either of these two theories, the rela-
tion of our existing Gospel accounts of the
resurrection to the original experience would
be the same. The actual event, whatever it
was, little by little became materialized in
the progress of the tradition until the narra-
tives became what they now are.
For a modern man, the choice appears to
lie between these two views. In either case,
the resurrection accounts prove the actual
existence of a spiritual life and power which
enabled men to brave danger and death in
an unpopular cause, for an unpopular per-
son ; a spiritual life and power which, on sure
historical grounds, we can connect with the
life of Jesus of Nazareth; a spiritual life
and power which, through these men, has
come down through the centuries in ever-
84 THE LIFE OF JESUS
increasing fulness, purity and beneficence.
These facts must be interpreted in accor-
dance with the thought-atmosphere of our
age, but they must be interpreted, and no
interpretation is true to fact which does not
recognize the spiritual supremacy of Jesus
of Nazareth in the life of the world. Thus,
instead of a supposedly objective physical
fact, supporting a structure full of difficult
dogmas, we get an objective, or at least
equally real, spiritual fact — a mass of such
facts, indeed — which goes to support the
reality and supremacy of the spiritual life
of Jesus. Through him we may rise to
belief in a God, of like-minded love and
righteousness, whose hand directs the desti-
ny of the whole universe of men and things.
CHAPTER III
THE TEACHING OF JESUS
So much is made of the supposed insuffi-
ciency and uncertainty of the Gospels that
it is well to lay this bogy to rest at once, so
far as the teaching of Jesus is concerned.
Of course, we should like to have a much
fuller record, but that is no reason for shut-
ting our eyes to the fact that we have, never-
theless, a fairly large amount of reported
teaching. But is it credibly reported ? This
question raises serious problems into which
we cannot enter here. But the existence of
these problems need not paralyze our prac-
tical judgment. We may leave much in
doubt without depriving ourselves of the as-
surance that we do know, or can know, the
86
86 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
main lines along which Jesus' thought ran.
To be sure, Jesus spoke in Aramaic and all
the Gospels were written in Greek. Further,
the accounts of what he said have certainly
been influenced by the minds through which
the stream of tradition flowed. But let all
be said that can be said, and we may still
maintain that we know what Jesus taught.
Method of Interpretation
A few words about interpretation. In
interpreting the Bible many mistakes are
made and many errors arise. Jesus' teach-
ing has not been exempt from these things.
It is so easy to see in a word what we wish
to see in it and it is so comfortable to insert
our pet convictions in a verse, surrepti-
tiously, and then to draw them out again
triumphantly, with an air of scientific dis-
covery and of divine authority. In inter-
preting the teaching of Jesus we must not
change parables into allegories, seeking all
sorts of complicated meanings where usu-
METHOD OF INTERPRETATION 87
ally one gi'eat truth is to be found. We
must remember that " the words of Jesus
are important, not as precepts, but as in-
dicative of principles," for he was not inter-
ested in regulating the outward life but in
filling the soul with divine enthusiasm. In
fine, we must always be alive to the underly-
ing principles and then regard them as rev-
elations of Jesus' own mind; for he was
not so much a teacher of spiritual life as a
revealer of it. Thus Paul was quite right in
emphasizing the spirit against the letter, and
in this emphasis he followed in the footsteps
of the Master.
The Inward Emphasis of Jesus' Teach-
ing AND His Attitude Toward the
Law
Matthew Arnold, with his usual keenness
of insight, realized that a dominant note in
Jesus' words was that of inwardness. It
does not require the insight of a Matthew
Arnold to discern this, however. The most
88 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
striking thing about Christianity has been
its unerring tendency to lay its finger on the
heart; on the thoughts, motives, impulses
and purposes of men ; on all the inner cross-
and counter-currents that go to make up
our real life in the everyday world.
This element of Jesus' teaching most nat-
urally appears in strongest light where the
Jewish law is discussed. We are prone to
think of Paul as the great protagonist of
faith, the spirit and the inner life, against
dead works, the mere letter of life and the
externalism of legalism. In this we are
right. Paul's fight meant the possibility of
full freedom for the Christian movement
and his victory meant its realization. But
we must remember that Paul was merely
the captain who led the last assault in a
campaign that had been conducted, indeed,
for centuries ; from the skirmishes of the He-
brew prophets to the fundamental plan of
attack revealed in the Gospels by the great-
est of spiritual commanders.
ATTITUDE TOWARD THE LAW 89
Jesus' attitude toward the law was pro-
phetic, rather than scribal. That is, it was
vital rather than formal, inward rather than
outward, spiritual rather than literal. There
is nothing more stirring or more searching
in the whole Bible, nay, in all literature,
than the series of antithetic passages in the
fifth chapter of Matthew, beginning in each
case, " Ye have heard that it was said to
them of old time," and ending with, " But
I say unto you." There is a sureness of aim
here that begets confidence and wins ad-
miration, both because of that which the
shots destroy and that which they spare and
defend. One is tempted to quote at length
but a few verses must suffice: "Ye have
heard that it was said to them of old time.
Thou shalt not kill ; and whosoever shall kill
shall be in danger of the judgment; but I
say unto you that every one who is angry
with his brother shall be in danger of the
judgment Ye have heard that it was
said, Thou shalt not commit adultery; but I
90 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
say unto you that every one that looketh on a
woman to lust after her hath committed
adultery with her already in his heart.^"
It may be that our usual idea of Paul, as
a more outspoken antagonist of the law than
Jesus, is due to his methods of presentation.
However, to Paul the law was still " a slave
to bring us unto Christ." Jesus, too, seems
to have been accustomed to send inquirers
back to the law, bidding them seek light
from it. But, close as these two ideas are,
there is a difference. For Paul, the work of
the law was done. It was all a thing of the
past. Christ had ended it. The present was
the age of the Spirit and there was a clear
break between the two, of time as well as
*Matt. 5:21-24, 27-28, 38-48. In this article I shall
use, of course, only such teaching of Jesus as I consider
genuine. One or two reservations will be indicated later.
I may say, further, that the teaching selected, minor de-
tails aside, is not seriously questioned by those critics
whose leadership is worthy of acceptance. The genuine
teaching of Jesus far exceeds, in amount, that utilized
here. Limits of space com.pel a selection but I have tried
to make the selection thoroughly representative.
ATTITUDE TOWARD THE LAW 91
of quality. Jesus, on the contrary, seemed
to think of the law not as superseded but as
outgrowing itself, so to speak. In it were
continually to be found the germinating
seeds of a new life that was to fulfil the law.
" Think not that I came to destroy the law
or the prophets: I came not to destroy but
to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till
heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one
tittle shall in no wise pass away from the
law, till all things be accomplished." *
This is a strong passage and not with-
out disquieting suggestions. The " jot and
tittle " phraseology sounds altogether rab-
binical, and it may be that we have here the
work of some misguided Jewish Christian,
anxious to save the orthodoxy of the Master.
I am inclined to think this is the case. But,
on the other hand, one of the guiding prin-
ciples of a correct interpretation of Jesus'
teaching is a recognition of his tendency to
push a truth to the extreme, in order to
»Matt. 5:17-20.
92 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
get it out into the open, as it were, free
from the inevitable background of expedi-
ency. The famous " turn the cheek " pas-
sage is an example of this and it may be
that the present passage is another. This
does not seem at all likely, however, for
the Jews did not need to be harangued into
legalism, nor was Jesus at all interested in
that sort of thing. The meaning may possi-
bly be that the law contains the gist of the
whole matter, therefore we cannot think of
its passing away any more than of the dis-
appearance of the eternal truth of which it
is the bearer.
But we do not have to base on such dis-
putable ground the thesis that Jesus sought
and found, inside the law itself, the interpre-
tative principle of the new life. In Matthew
and in Luke we have parallel acounts of the
famous question of the lawyer. " Teacher,
what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And
he said unto him. What is written in the
law? how readest thou? And he answering
ATTITUDE TOWARD THE LAW 93
said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy strength, and with all thy mind ; and
thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto
him, Thou hast answered right: this do and
thou shalt live."
The lawyer's answer to his own question
was taken partly from Deuteronomy and
partly from Leviticus, and Jesus stamped
it with the seal of his approval.^ On an-
other occasion he expressed the opinion that
" every scribe who hath been made a disciple
to the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a man
that is a householder, who bringeth forth
out of his treasure things new and old." ^ In
other words, the law is far from discarded.
It is God's law and salvation is in it. " This
do and thou shalt live." But the law must
be interpreted according to a principle to
be found within itself, a principle that has
»Luke 10:25-28; Matt. 22:34-40; Deut 6:4; Lev.
19:17-18.
* Matt 13 : 52.
94 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
to do with the heart and the motives. A
sifting process results by which the wheat of
the permanent is separated from the tem-
porary Jewish chaff.
Jesus did not content himself with mere
enunciation of the principle, leaving the ap-
plication to us. He applied it rigorously
to the contemporaneous perversions which
characterized Pharisaism, in language which
has become classic. Indeed, orations of in-
vective might quite as reasonably be called
" rabbinics " as " philippics." When the
Pharisees were quibbling about the relation
of hand-washing to religion, Jesus uttered
the trenchant saying, " There is nothing
from without the man, that going into him
can defile him ; but the things which proceed
out of the man are those that defile the
man." ^ Elsewhere scorn is heaped upon
rabbinical exaggeration and hypocrisy in
words of cutting irony and indignant emo-
* Mark 7 : 1-23.
CHRISTIAN INWARDNESS 95
tion. " Woe unto you, scribes and Phari-
sees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside
of the cup and of the platter, but within they
are full from extortion and excess. Thou
blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of
the cup and of the platter, that the outside
thereof may become clean also." ^
This invective is directed against rabbini-
cal refinements of the law, but it is clear that
Jesus everywhere subordinates the legal and
ceremonial elements of the original law to
his inner principle and practically excludes
them from consideration. Thus we see that
Matthew Arnold was right in holding up in-
wardness as a fundamental mark of Chris-
tian teaching.
Christian Inwardness
But mere inwardness is, to a large ex-
tent, a colorless term; a formal descrip-
tion without essential content. We now
> Matt. 23.
96 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
know where to look, but we do not yet know
what to look for. To be sure, when we
learn that righteousness is a thing of the
heart and not a matter of washing pots, pans,
cups and platters, we have made progress.
This progress carries us beyond and above
the boggy levels of Pharisaism, but it does
not bring us to the fork of the road where
the peculiarly Christian path leads out. In
other words, there are kinds of inwardness
not distinctively Christian, and thus we see
that Matthew Arnold's criterion is only a
tentative and partial one, not final. " Out
of the heart are the issues of life," no matter
what those issues may be. Envy is quite as
inward as benevolence. Hatred is quite as
inward as love. Lust is just as much a thing
of the heart as purity. " That which pro-
ceedeth out of the man, that defileth the man.
For from within, out of the heart of men,
evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts,
murders, adulteries, covetings, wickednesses,
deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing.
CHRISTIAN INWARDNESS 97
pride, foolishness: all these evil things pro-
ceed from within, and defile the man." ^ Be-
sides, Christianity is not the only religion
that possesses this trait of inwardness. Both
Brahmanism and Buddhism are essentially
inward in their emphasis.
No, we must delve deeper into the teach-
ing of Jesus if we are to fathom its unique
depths. Can we find there distinctive mean-
ings which will mark off the Christian life of
the spirit from other kinds of spiritual life?
Can we discern in his teaching thoughts that
may be described as characteristically Chris-
tian? In short, is there a peculiarly Chris-
tian inwardness, and if so, what is it? To
find what we seek we must answer the ques-
tions, " What does Jesus teach regarding
God? " and, " What does he teach concern-
ing man ? " We may link to one or the other
of these two queries all others that might
conceivably be asked, such as those concern-
* Mark 7 : 20-23 ; vss. 21-23 seem to be an expansion by
the evangelist of tlie thought of Jesus In vs. 20.
98 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
ing sin, forgiveness, faith, salvation, the fu-
ture life.
What Does Jesus Teach Regarding
God?
Let us first examine, therefore, the doc-
trine of Jesus concerning God. Most non-
Christians, and many Christians, think of
God as a God of power essentially. He
is omniscient. He knows everything. He
is omnipotent. He can do anything. It
is well known how large this element looms in
the Moslem conception of God. The recog-
nition of fate and the inculcation of blind
submission express this emphasis of Islam.
The inscrutability of the all-powerful pur-
poses of Allah and the uselessness of resist-
ing them are cardinal Mohammedan doc-
trines.
In a similar way, the rabbis of late Juda-
ism magnified the element of aloofness in
God's nature. In the thought of the Jews,
from the time of the Babylonian exile, the
THE POWER OF GOD 99
gap between Jehovah and his people tended
to increase. The sense of sin and of its curse
brought with it a sense of moral separation.
The growing belief in intermediary beings
emphasized this separation quite as much as
it did the connection between God and man.
The whole relationship was usually con-
ceived of in despotic terms which linked the
aloofness of Jehovah with the essential
thought of power. The Jews did not dare
to use Jehovah's real name, " Jahwe." It
was too sacred. They employed circumlo-
cutions, or combined the consonants of that
name with the vowels of another and less
sacred name, " Adonai," thus creating the
familiar but linguistically im justifiable word,
" Jehovah."
The Power of God
Jesus, on the other hand, emphasized other
phases of the nature of God more strongly
than that of power. Still we must not for-
get that the God of Jesus is clearly a pow-
100 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
erful God. In the famous colloquy with
his disciples regarding the future chances of
rich men, Jesus asserts, " With men this is
impossible ; but with God all things are pos-
sible." ^ The relative dreadfulness of fall-
ing into the hands of angry men or of an
offended God is described in these undoubt-
edly genuine words: " And I say unto you,
my friends. Be not afraid of them that kill
the body, and after that have no more that
they can do. But I will warn you whom ye
shall fear: Fear him, who after he hath
killed hath power to cast into hell ; yea, I say
unto you. Fear him." ^ Elsewhere, simple
trust is commended in the words of a nature
lover, " Consider the lilies, how they grow:
they toil not, neither do they spin ; yet I say
unto you. Even Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of these. But if God
doth so clothe the grass in the field, which
to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the
*Matt. 19:23-26.
* Luke 12 : 4-5.
THE LOVE OF GOD 101
oven; how much more shall He clothe you,
O ye of little faith? "^
That everything is in God's hands, Jesus
everywhere assumes and occasionally as-
serts. But there is nothing speculative about
his assertions. Many of our theological gar-
ments have been woven with omnipotence as
the warp and omniscience the woof. This
may do for sackcloth but not for work-a-day
clothes. Jesus cut his cloth from another
pattern. God is powerful — all-powerful, in
fact — but his power is a practical and not a
speculative matter. Like the Sabbath, " it
was made for man and not man for it."
The Love of God
But Jesus' emphasis is not on power at
all, but on the love of God. The special
term he used for God, the name " Father,"
which has ever since been considered distinc-
tively Christian, symbolizes beautifully both
' Luke 12 : 22-30 ; Matt. 6 : 25-34.
102 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
the inclusiveness of Jesus' conception and its
special interest. The name was not a new
one. It appears several times in the Old
Testament and was not mifamiliar to the
rabbis ; but with Jesus it seems to have taken
on a new connotation. But even his mean-
ing was not absolutely new. Hosea, Jere-
miah and Second Isaiah, among others, had
stressed the loving phase of Jehovah's na-
ture. Still, the depth and range of God's
gracious love are so much greater in the Gos-
pels that they stamp the whole conception as
something new. New it still is, in large part.
After two thousand years of training, even
Christian theory still finds it hard to survive
at the altitude of the Sermon on the Mount,
and Christian practice lags far behind its
theory. " Ye have heard that it was said. An
eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but
I say unto you, Resist not him that is evil:
but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right
cheek, turn to him the other also
Whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile.
THE LOVE OF GOD 103
go with him two Ye have heard that
it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and
hate thine enemy : but I say unto you, Love
your enemies, .... that ye may be sons of
your Father who is in heaven." ^
Love, in the specially Christian sense, in
the sense determined by God's own nature,
is graciousness, kindliness and helpfulness
to those who cannot or will not requite it.
Grasp this and you are ready to understand
the heart of the gospel of Jesus. The gist of
the parable of the Prodigal Son is in the very
phase of the story which causes many to sym-
pathize with the elder brother. The whole
point is the very lack of desert in the Prodi-
gal, his previous selfishness and ingratitude
and his present inability to offer his father
anything but a contrite heart. " And he
arose and came to his father .... his
father saw him, and was moved with compas-
sion And the son said. Father, I
have sinned .... I am no more worthy
' Matt. 5 : 38^8.
104 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
to be called thy son But the father
said, .... let us ... . make merry: for
this my son was dead, and is alive again ; he
was lost, and is found." ^
The ethical difficulties in the parable of
the Laborers in the Vineyard are solved in
the same way. The parable is introduced
with the words, " For the Kingdom of
Heaven is like unto a man that was a house-
holder." The householder is the central fig-
ure of the story and, in him, one characteris-
tic is featured, namely, the desire to help
others needlessly. The parable does not
show perfect literary execution, but it is
not lacking in clarity. It teaches the free,
boundless, uncalculating graciousness of the
Father."
The unapproachably beautiful parable of
the Good Samaritan leads in the same direc-
tion by a different path. The virtue of the
Samaritan consisted in his rising above the
ordinary separations of life by means of a
» Luke 15 : 11-32. * Matt. 20 : 1-1&
THE LOVE OF GOD 105
broad, human sympathy. The prologue of
the parable comiects this sort of neighborly
love with a right relation to God and conse-
quently presupposes the existence of the
same quality in God himself/
Wherever we touch the teaching of Jesus,
we feel this throbbing sympathy, expressed
or implied. It is not strange, therefore, that
the symbol, " Father," was his favorite name
for God, for it expresses most aptly Jesus'
supreme interest in the practical relation of
God to the world: a relation of good-will,
which is the essential content of the " in-
wardness " of God.
But, can we not go further in analyzing
the content of this good- will? No doubt we
are learning more about it all the time. The
revelation of God's love is not yet complete.
It is growing with the consciousness of the
race. Each generation adds details to fill
out the concept. But Jesus did not leave all
this to those who should come after him.
»Luke 10:25-57.
106 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
He himself tells us a number of important
things.
For instance, we learn that the love
which the Father expects from his children,
namely, his own loving-kindness, is not a
weak and pliant thing. It must not be con-
fused with softness. The Father hates sin.
" If thy right eye causeth thee to stumble,
pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is
profitable for thee that one of thy members
should perish, and not thy whole body be cast
into hell." ^ Though his sympathy is as wide
as the horizon and as deep as the ocean, it
does not and cannot separate sin from pun-
ishment. " And if thy right hand causeth
thee to stumble, cut it off and cast it from
thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of
thy members should perish, and not thy
whole body go into hell." ^ These and other
stern passages do not enable us to paint the
picture in detail. In fact, we are told not to
judge, " that ye be not judged." The court
»Matt. 5:29. ^Matt. 5:30.
THE LOVE OF GOD 107
dealing with such things is one over which
we are not called to preside; but we must
hold, if only as a word of admonition, that
Jesus' conception of God includes some re-
lation to " the wages of sin."
Further, we learn that God's love is of a
sort that demands purity of heart. " Blessed
are the pure in heart: for they shall see
God."^ It generates a modest willingness
to sink fame and personal glory in glad ser-
vice of others. " And Jesus called them to
him, and saith unto them. Ye know that they
who are accounted to rule over the Gentiles
lord it over them ; and their great ones exer-
cise authority over them. But it is not so
among you: but whosoever would become
great among you, shall be your minister ; and
whosoever would be first among you shall be
servant of all. For the Son of Man also
came not to be ministered unto, but to min-
ister, and to give his life a ransom for
many." ^ It demands a peace-loving dispo-
1 Matt. 5:8. ' Mark 10 : 42-45.
108 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
sition, "Blessed are the peacemakers; for
they shall be called sons of God " ; ^ single-
ness of purpose, " The lamp of the body is
the eye; if therefore thine eye be single thy
whole body shall be full of light. But if
thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full
of darkness. If therefore the light that is
in thee be darkness, how great is the dark-
ness! No man can serve two masters: for
either he will hate the one, and love the other ;
or else he will hold to the one, and despise
the other. Ye cannot serve God and mam-
mon." ^
The divine love is of a sort that can work
only through obedient wills. In fact, it is
only through action prompted by obedience
to the divine impulse that this God-like
structure can be built up. " Every one
therefore that heareth these words of mine,
and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise
man, who built his house upon the rock : and
the rain descended, and the floods came, and
» Matt. 5:9. ' Matt. 6 : 22-24.
THE LOVE OF GOD 109
the winds blew, and beat upon that house;
and it fell not : for it was founded upon the
rock. And every one that heareth these
words of mine and doeth them not, shall be
likened unto a foolish man, who built his
house upon the sand ; and the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the winds blew, and
smote upon that house ; and it fell : and great
was the fall thereof." ^ Again, this love in-
cludes a whole-souled and eager devotion to
righteousness, hungering and thirsting, as
it were, for everything good. " Blessed are
they that hunger and thirst after righteous-
ness: for they shall be filled." ^ The nature
of these demands reveals the nature of the
love that makes them, and in these things is
the true love from God made manifest.
The patience and persistence of true love
is clearly indicated in the words, " Blessed
are they that have been persecuted for right-
eousness* sake for theirs is the Kingdom of
Heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall re-
» Matt. 7 : 24-27. ' Matt. 5 : 6.
110 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
proach you, and persecute you, and say all
manner of evil against you falsely, for my
sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for
great is your reward in heaven : for so perse-
cuted they the prophets that were before
you." ^ These qualities Jesus pre-eminently
embodied in his own life, alike in his relations
with slow-minded disciples and exasperating
enemies.
He often insists on the forgiving spirit,
also, as part and parcel of a love that shares
the divine nature. " Then came Peter and
said to him, Lord, how oft shall my brother
sin against me, and I forgive him? until
seven times ? Jesus saith unto him, I say not
unto thee. Until seven times; but, Until
seventy times seven." ^ Then follows the
condemnation of the " Unmerciful Servant."
Lastly, true love, the love characteristic of
the Father, inevitably entails suffering.
There is in it something essentially vicarious,
^ Matt. 5 : 10-12.
^'Matt. 18:21-22; 5:43-48; 6:12-15.
THE LOVE OF GOD 111
something that involves suffering with and
for others. " And he began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer many
things, and be rejected by the elders, and the
chief priests, and be killed, and after three
days rise again. And he spake the saying
openly. And Peter took him, and began to
rebuke him. But he, turning about, and see-
ing his disciples, rebuked Peter, and saith,
Get thee behind me, Satan; for thou mindest
not the things of God, but the things of men.
And he called unto him the multitude with
his disciples, and said unto them. If any man
would come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow me. For
whosoever would save his life shall lose it;
and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake
and the gospel's shall save it " ^
The Cross is not merely an essential part
of the original gospel. It is an essential ele-
ment in every man's true appropriation of
* Mark 8 : 31-35. In this passage the specific nature of
the resurrection prediction is probably due to the evange-
list.
112 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
the " Good News," because it is essential to
the " things of God." When, therefore, we
speak of love without including in our con-
ception lines of demarcation — separations,
hardness, suffering — we substitute for the
true conception a soft, emasculated senti-
mentality which is quite a different thing.
We mind " not the things of God, but the
things of men."
The distinctive thing, therefore, about
Jesus' emphasis upon love in the character
of God is not its separation from other ethi-
cal qualities and its exaltation in disregard
of them, or at their expense. It is, rather,
that all possible virtues are subsumed under
this all-controlling principle in which they
become fused, by which they are energized,
and through which a proper balance may be
secured in their exercise. In a sense, the
thought of God and of his demands is thus
immensely simplified, in that the eye may be
focused on one point instead of on many.
But this is truly a terrible simplicity. It is
GOD AND NATURE 113
SO rich, varied, many-sided and all-embrac-
ing, and hence so hard to acquire. These
things enable us to understand how two di-
verse and apparently contradictory sayings
of Jesus may both be true, namely, " Take
my yoke upon you, and learn of me; ....
for my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light " ; and, " Enter ye in by the narrow
gate: .... For narrow is the gate and
straitened the way, that leadeth unto life." ^
God and Nature
We must not forget to add a word re-
garding Jesus' conception of God's relation
to the physical universe. Man's conquest of
nature has caused many terrors to vanish like
a morning cloud, but others have arisen to
take their place. Whatever the development
of science, man will never entirely conquer
nature. On the contrary, nature is bound to
conquer man, sooner or later; at death, if
not before. A religion that does not meet
* Matt. 11 : 28-30 ; 7 : 13-14.
114 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
the needs arising from this condition cannot
permanently satisfy the heart of man. In
this connection, Jesus everywhere builds on
the basis already laid down by the Hebrew
prophets. His teaching, as usual, is practi-
cal and not speculative. He assumes that
God is the creator of the universe and clearly
teaches that the universe is good because it
is God's work. There is no essential gap be-
tween this phase of things and the human
phase. Both alike are objects of his loving
care. " Therefore I say unto you, Be not
anxious for your life Behold the
birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither
do they reap, nor gather into barns ; and your
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye
of much more value than they? " ^
The Nearness of God
This leads naturally to another element in
Jesus' conception of God, and with this we
may conclude. In Jesus' thought, the Fa-
»Matt 6:26^30.
THE NEARNESS OF GOD 115
ther was very near to him. This sense of the
nearness of God was one of the characteris-
tics which marked him off from his contem-
poraries. They prayed pubhcly and elab-
orately. He sought silence and solitude in
which to meet his Father. " He withdrew
himself into the deserts and prayed." ^ In
silence and in solitude he cultivated simplic-
ity in prayer. " And when ye pray, ye shall
not be as the hypocrites: for they love to
stand and pray in the synagogues and in the
corners of the streets, that they may be seen
of men But thou, when thou prayest,
enter into thine inner chamber, and having
shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in
secret." ^ Why use many words? The Fa-
ther is there and knoweth your needs be-
fore you ask. In simple heart-confession we
should lay our needs before God with the sin-
cerity and desire of the Publican, knowing
that God is near and will hear the cry of the
soul. To Jesus, God was an all-powerful
^ Luke 5 : 16. " Matt. 6 : 5-15.
116 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
and an all-righteous God, but he was es-
pecially the all-loving and ever-present one.
This is the particular content of Jesus'
thought of God and of the symbol " Father "
which he has made distinctively Christian.
What Does Jesus Teach Concerning
Man?
What does Jesus teach concerning man;
his nature, place, and destiny ? We have al-
ready answered this question, in part, while
setting forth Jesus' conception of God. It is
important to call attention to the fact that
this overlapping in the presentation is due
largely to the complete fusion of the ethical
and religious elements of life in Jesus' view
of things. This fusion is one of the central
facts of Christian teaching; a fact which
allies it closely with Hebrew prophetism and
clearly distinguishes them both, in degree, if
not in kind, from all other historic religious
viewpoints. In other words, Christianity is
JESUS' TEACHING ABOUT MAN 117
not merely an ethical system. It is, rather,
an ethico-religious life.
But we can and we must say much more
than has been said about Jesus' teaching con-
cerning man's nature, relations and destiny.
The filial nature of man is the natural corol-
lary which Jesus drew from his paternal con-
ception of God. Man is the child of God, the
son of the Father. " I say unto you, Love
your enemies, and pray for them that perse-
cute you ; that ye may be sons of your Father
who is in heaven." " Whosoever shall do
the will of God, the same is my brother, and
sister and mother." " Suffer the little chil-
dren to come unto me; forbid them not:
for to such belongeth the Kingdom of God.
Verily I say unto you. Whosoever shall not
receive the Kingdom of God as a little child,
he shall in no wise enter therein." *
In a sense, all men are sons of the Father ;
that is, potentially. While limiting his ac-
tivity almost entirely to members of his own
> Matt. 5 : 43-48 ; 18 : 1-3 ; Mark 3 : 31-35 ; 10 : 13-15.
118 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
race, in his teaching Jesus evidently deals
with man as man. His sympathy is inter-
racial. The Good Samaritan steps across
the high barrier between his people and the
Jews and is commended therefor. Jesus rec-
ognizes the great faith of the Roman cen-
turion with the striking words, " I have not
found so great faith, no, not in Israel." ^
Human life, as such, possesses worth and
dignity and is full of boundless possibilities.
There is not an absolute difference of kind
between the human spirit and the divine ; no
complete gap or break that needs to be arti-
ficially bridged. Jesus accepted the old He-
brew thought expressed in one of the crea-
tion stories, " And God said. Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness ; and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the birds of the heavens, and over
the cattle, and over all the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the
earth. And God created man in his own
• Matt. 8 : 10-12.
JESUS' TEACHING ABOUT MAN 119
image, in the image of God created he him.*
In man as man, therefore, resides an infi-
nite capacity God-ward. This gives a basis
for endless effort, not only in self-develop-
ment, but also in behalf of others. This faith
in man also is itself a progress-producing
conviction, for men will attack the most diffi-
cult problems if only they can believe that a
solution is possible. Jesus was never tired
of helping those about him, even the most
despised and degenerate, because he saw in
them the possibilities of Christian sonship.
This is the basal idea of man which he tried
to inculcate by precept and example, " Every
one is worthful."
This worth is due, however, to the kind
of life of which man is capable, even though
he may not yet be the possessor of it;
namely, the divine life. It is due to the fact
that he is a potential child of God, even
though actual sonship is yet to be achieved.
In a real sense, man as man is a child of
» Gen. 1 : 26-27.
120 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
God and in another sense, equally real, he
must become a child of God. " Verily I
say unto you, Except ye turn, and become
as little children, ye shall in no wise enter
into the Kingdom of Heaven." ^ " Ye there-
fore shall be perfect, as your heavenly
Father is perfect." ^ This must be taken in
the light of the context and can only mean,
*' Ye shall be controlled by the same loving
purpose which controls the Father." That
is, man becomes a son of God by submit-
ting willingly and joyfully to the divine will
which is one of uncalculating love. In be-
coming a child of the Father, he becomes
like God in this particular. In other words,
the divine element in man is not different
from the divine element above man. There
is but one principle for both, and what God
is in respect to that principle, man may be-
come. This is his manifest destiny.
No conception of human nature could be
more exalted, and yet it does not ignore the
» Matt. 18 : 3. » Matt. 5 : 48.
JESUS' TEACHING ABOUT MAN 121
hard facts of life. It transcends them, not
by ignoring, but by conquering them. Ig-
norance, filth, vice and disease often force
us to ask whether the ideal of actual divine
sonship is at all possible. In many cases it
seems like a Utopian dream; and yet, history
and present-day experience afford us ample
testimony to the power of God in bringing
men to himself, even out of apparently hope-
less conditions. The justification of this
faith must be sought in a progressive reali-
zation of the ideal among men, in signs that
this process is really taking place.
This ideal of divine sonship is realized
whenever loving service, of an entirely dis-
interested sort, goes forth from man to man.
Here is the fusion of the ethical and the
religious in Jesus' teaching. In the Old
Testament, " Thou shalt love the Lord, thy
God, with all thy heart " and " Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself " appear in dif-
ferent books. In the Gospels, Jesus is
122 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
represented as bringing them together. *
Throughout all his teaching these two truths
are inseparable. " Inasmuch as ye did it
unto one of these my brethren, even these
least, ye did it unto me." ^ Brotherly love is
the central and controlling ethical principle.
Faithful devotion to the will of God is the
religious principle. But each is the con-
verse of the other and its complement. In
Jesus' teaching, and in true, complete, Chris-
tian living, they are not sundered.
I do not wish to be misunderstood in what
I have said about the potential divinity of
man, according to Jesus' teaching. Lest
I be misunderstood, let me emphasize fur-
ther the references already made to the dark
facts of human life and the necessity of con-
version. The merely " potential " child of
God must truly be " converted " in order to
" become " an " actual " child of God. This
is the change from the " natural " man to
* Deut. 6:4-5; Lev. 19 : 18 ; Luke 10 : 25-29.
» Matt. 25 : 31-46.
THE " KINGDOM OF HEAVEN " 123
the " spiritual " man of which Paul says so
much and which, indeed, constitutes the
great religious problem for us all. This
change is not an easy sliding from stage to
stage. Even where least remarked, due to
favorable upbringing, it means a right-
about-face. Concrete instances tend to re-
new our faith in the primacy of the so-called
" grace of God " in this central religious
experience. But it makes a great deal of
difference whether this " grace " has poten-
tiality to work with or nothing to work with.
In the next chapter we shall see what the
difference is.
The "Kingdom of Heaven "
The teaching of Jesus was promulgated
by him under the Jewish caption, " The
Kingdom of Heaven." " Blessed are the
poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of
Heaven." " Many shall come from the east
and the west, and shall sit down with Abra-
ham, Isaac and Jacob, in the Kingdom of
124 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
Heaven." " The Kingdom of Heaven is like
unto a grain of mustard seed .... leaven
.... a treasure hid in a field .... a mer-
chant seeking goodly pearls." " She saith
unto him, Command that these my two sons
may sit, one on thy right hand, and one thy
left hand, in thy Kingdom But Jesus
called them unto him, and said, Ye know that
the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and their great ones exercise authority over
them. Not so shall it be among you: but
whosoever would become great among you
shall be your minister. . . ." ^
It may be that Jesus thought of the future
establishment of the Kingdom in a somewhat
Jewish way; that is, a Kingdom to be mi-
raculously set up by God himself soon after
Jesus' death. Certainly we must beware of
modernizing his conception by reading into
it social ideas which are current to-day. This
is a knotty problem, and perhaps an insolu-
ble one. We do not have to wait for its
» Matt. 5:3; 8 : 11 ; 13 : 31-33, 44-47 ; 20 : 20-28.
OTHER FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS 125
solution, however, for whatever conclusion
we reach, all must agree that the Kingdom
was to Jesus a spiritual thing, fundamen-
tally. It signified the inner union of man
with God and with his fellow-man ; a great,
congenial family of men at one with God
and devoted to the execution of his will.
Some Other Fundamental Questions
All Jesus' teaching concerning the funda-
mental issues of religion should be inter-
preted in the light of the controlling em-
phases already mentioned. Sin is anything
that interferes with true sonship. It is not
so much an act as an attitude. Hence, pride
and hypocrisy may be worse than sins usu-
ally deemed much baser. Righteousness,
too, is not a mosaic of correct perform-
ances, but a rightly directed personal at-
titude. Personality is indivisible and so is
righteousness; a personal thing which ex-
ceeds the " righteousness " of the scribes and
Pharisees in that it is inward, real, sincere.
126 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
and freed from the thought of self by being
itself, essentially, regard for the welfare of
others. Forgiveness flows forth from the
ever-ready love of God to everyone who
sincerely repents. When thus received, it
necessarily propagates, in and through the
recipient, the forgiving spirit. Repentance
is the portal to the Kingdom, as with John
the Baptist, and forgiveness the joyous ex-
perience of an actual child of God, the fact
of being, or of becoming, reconciled with
him.
Finally, his conception of salvation and
of the judgment is inextricably bound up
with the Kingdom idea. If the Jewish em-
phasis was controlling, then the idea of
future salvation and judgment must have
been Jesus' paramount thought. That the
future was included in his teaching on these
subjects seems clear to me, but the content
of this teaching is not so clear. We may
say with perfect assurance, however, that
whether present or future, in this world or
SOCIAL EMPHASIS 127
in the beyond, or both, salvation and judg-
ment could have had only one qualitative
meaning for Jesus. When Zaccheus rises
to a nobler plane of motive, Jesus cries,
*' To-day is salvation come to this house."
And elsewhere he says, " He that loses his
life shall save it and he that saveth his life
shall lose it." Salvation comes by losing
oneself in the all-compelling purpose of the
Father's Kingdom, and judgment rests on
him who treasures his own life for its own
sake and is loath to let it go.
Is Jesus' Teaching Social in its Em-
phasis?
The Kingdom concept, as adopted by
Jesus, necessarily implies a social reference
and emphasis, but it is not social in the cur-
rent sense of that word. Jesus' teaching
was primarily individualistic; but it affords
ground for, and imparts a great impetus to,
an extended social application.
There has been a vast deal of faulty in-
128 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
terpretation of the teaching of Jesus in
favor of social conceptions that are wholly
modern. Many of these modern conceptions
and the practical programs inspired by them
engage my whole-hearted sympathy. We
know too much now about heredity, envir-
onment, the drag of the physical and the
tyranny of the mass, not to realize that there
is such a thing as " social salvation." The
future of Christianity depends upon its
recognition of these facts and upon the
application of its spirit to these needs and
problems. Nevertheless, legitimate deduc-
tion from, and necessary application of, the
teaching of Jesus are not to be confused with
historical interpretation. This interpreta-
tion yields the conclusion, already given,
that Jesus' teaching was primarily individ-
ualistic but affords ground for, and im-
parts a great impetus to, an extended social
application. Recent tendencies among so-
cial workers make me think that the original
individualism of Christianity needs to be re-
CONCLUSION 129
emphasized in certain quarters. On the
other hand, there are whole sections of the
Christian Church still unaware of the social
problem and of the social implicates of
Jesus' teaching.
Conclusion
Such was Jesus' teaching and, as we saw
at the beginning, such must have been his
life; for these sayings have a flavor about
them betraying the fact that they have been
lived out, not thought out, merely. Had
Jesus been a mere teacher, whose life did
not especially exemplify what he taught,
we might be justified in maintaining that
the essence of Christianity lies in the con-
trolling ideas of his teaching. But it is evi-
dent that Jesus lived out what he taught,
and that it is the spirit of his actual life, even
more than of his sublime teaching, that has
given us historical Christianity. Thus the
Church has been right in insisting on the
Person of Christ as central. Of course we
130 THE TEACHING OF JESUS
must change our formulae, for we are now
obliged to approach this religious question,
and all others, from a standpoint far differ-
ent from that of our ancestors. But the car-
dinal thing about Christianity is still the fact
that " the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us," and the cardinal experience
awaiting each one of us, if we have not al-
ready had it, is to behold " his glory, glory
as of the only begotten from the Father, full
of grace and truth."
CHAPTER IV
THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
Christians are agreed on the divinity of
Christ far more than the ebb and flow of
theological terminology would indicate. If
the truth were only realized, or admitted,
many conservatives and liberals, who now
think the gap between them wide and irredu-
cible, would find themselves standing close
together. The trouble is that many of the
former insist on having the exaltation of
Jesus expressed in their terms alone; other-
wise, they deny that the exaltation is real
or sufficient. On the other hand, many of
the latter refuse to use language strong
enough to express their true appreciation
of Jesus, for fear they will be under-
stood as subscribing to ideas they no longer
hold. They deny themselves biblical phrase-
131
132 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
ology which most aptly and beautifully ex-
presses the fundamental agreement which
may still exist between the views of a modern
thinker and those of the historic Church re-
garding Jesus Christ. The effect of this at-
titude may be unfortunate, but its motive is
clear and praiseworthy. These men do not
wish to fall into the unsteady arms of com-
promise, for the compromiser is abroad in
the land.
The New Phase of the Question
The status of the problem for many men
has changed utterly. Science cannot dictate
to us what our faith shall be, but it has es-
tablished a method of procedure which must
be followed in all historical investigation.
And the problem of the divinity of Christ
is, in the first instance, an historical problem.
We must ascertain the historical facts by
means of scientific, historical processes be-
fore we seek to pass judgment on the signifi-
cance of the facts, else we are dealing with
NEW PHASE OF THE QUESTION 133
unknown quantities. Thus the old deductive
method is gone forever. That is, we cannot
begin with God and deduce therefrom the
divinity of Jesus. God is the unknown, or
partially unknown quantity that can be
determined only by equations of historical
fact, and these equations can be satisfied
only by means of the historical method. I
do not mean to say that we can prove the
existence of God by means of the historical
method. Far from it. What I maintain is
that any vital faith in God springs out of
facts ; that an educated man should consider
the whole realm of historic fact in forming
his conception of God; that, finally, such a
consideration, to be valid, involves the use
of the historical method. The problem maj^
be put in this way: What sort of God, if
any, do the facts of life lead us to believe in ?
Does the historical Jesus stand as the gate-
way, par excellence, to belief in such a God ?
If so, what should be our final estimate of
Jesus ?
134 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
The Teaching of the New Testament
The Church has been right in emphasizing
the Person of Christ as the central fact of
Christianity. In this it has but followed
the example of the earliest disciples of Jesus.
Perhaps I should use the word " personal-
ity," because " person " has acquired a mean-
ing which is beyond my present thought. It
was not Jesus the teacher, alone or chiefly,
who won disciples. It was Jesus the Person ;
Jesus the man. He lived a life that com-
pelled a following and those Jews who fol-
lowed him gave him the highest rank they
could, next to God himself, namely, messiah-
ship. To them he was the messenger of
God, bringing light and life ; subordinate to
God, but second only to him. This is the
messianic viewpoint, and in the Synoptic
Gospels it is alsolutely dominant.
At some time between this primitive
period and the appearance of the Gospel of
John, there arose the view of the Person of
NEW TESTAMENT TEACHING 135
Jesus so appealingly set forth in the beau-
tiful stories of the infancy. We need not
discuss here whether these narratives of
Matthew and Luke arose before or after
the time of Paul, nor whether they were
placed where they are by the evangelists
themselves or by later editors. It satisfies
our present purpose to remark that here
we have a distinct attempt to account for
Jesus' divine origin, this being already be-
lieved in on other grounds. We do not
have to import myths in order to account for
this phenomenon. The Hebrew ancestors
of these Jewish Christians had often mani-
fested a tendency to ascribe a supernatural
birth to those whom they regarded as their
great religious leaders, as in the cases of
Isaac and of Samuel. A similar but, natu-
rally, much stronger tendency gave rise,
probably, to the accounts of Jesus' birth and
infancy. The idea these stories embody is
that of " physical fihation." They were
creations of " popular devotion, destined to
136 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
explain the divine sonship of Christ by his
supernatural generation." This important
product of popular theology eventually be-
came a cardinal factor in the final shaping
of the Christian creeds, in which it was amal-
gamated with various other elements — primi-
tive Jewish- Christian, Pauline, Johannine
and others. That it was not such a factor
in the first century is evident from the fact
that it is ignored by Paul and the author of
the Gospel of John. Indeed, such a theory
as that of " physical fiHation " is far from
compatible with either of these other historic
Christian viewpoints, namely, the Pauline
and the Johannine.
Paul's Christian experience was of the
transcendent type. Its conscious beginning
was surrounded by abnormal conditions and
the vision of Christ on the road to Damascus
was ever the burning center of his religious
and theological universe. Further, he cut
himself off, in large part, from the details of
Jesus' historical career which so determined
NEW TESTAMENT TEACHING 137
the thought of his Jewish-Christian brothers.
Hence it was but natural that the heavenly
Christ should be the burden of his thought
and that correspondingly lofty conceptions
should appear in his writings. In his way
he gave Jesus the first place. And yet he
everywhere subordinates him to God, " even
the Father " to whom " he shall deliver up
the Kingdom " at " the end."
What Paul did in his way the author of
the Fourth Gospel also did, but in a way
peculiar to himself. Accustomed to the
thought of the Philonic school, he exalted
his Lord and Master in the terms that lay at
hand. In so doing, he performed a great
service for the thinking people of his day.
Jesus was to him " the Word made flesh."
This was understandable to a Greek and
doubtless many were led to a proper estimate
of Jesus through this way of describing him.
The Philonic definitions of "the Word"
are somewhat confusing. Sometimes ** the
Word " is spoken of as equal with God and
138 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
sometimes in terms of subordination to him.
It was really a term of mediation for a day
when the gap between God and man was
felt to be much greater than it is now felt
to be or, as we may remark in passing,
than Jesus evidently felt it to be. " The
Word " was the highest of all divine inter-
mediaries; the first step of God downward
toward man. The author of the Fourth
Gospel possessed a deep Christian experi-
ence together with an Alexandrian educa-
tion and he could not find a better or more
suitable name for his Master than this term
of mediation current in the Alexandrian
school.
The Rise or the Creeds
Two centuries of conflict, conquest and
compromise passed over the Christian faith.
Out of these things came the great creeds of
Christendom. Christianity was enthroned
upon the seat of power. "No longer could it
be said, " Not many wise, not many mighty.
THE RISE OF THE CREEDS 139
are called." Probably the great moving life
of the religion was then, as always, down in
the midst of the mass of common hmnanity,
but the shaping of Christian polity and doc-
trine was no longer a naive thing. It was
in the hands of men skilled in politics.
" Practical " men controlled these things and
" practical " then meant just what it means
now : a full recognition of the force of modi-
fying circumstances. What were these mod-
ifying circumstances? They were the cus-
toms of the Greco-Roman world, its methods
of organization and its modes of thought.
It is not pertinent to discuss here the details
of the adaptation to environment which
Christianity underwent, consciously and un-
consciously, in the first three centuries of its
history. I do not agree with those who hold
that all this represented decay. On the con-
trary, it was inevitable and it has had its
place of value in the progress of mankind.
Furthermore, as far as the creeds were con-
cerned, it represented, at least in part, a
140 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
sincere attempt to explain to the thinking
people of the day how the God of the
heavens had actually come into contact with
a sorely needy hmnanity, through Christ.
The creeds did for the time what now we
see every age must do for itself anew; and,
for my part, as against the Arians, I think
the truth then lay with the Athanasians.
But we have gone a long way upon the
path of knowledge since the fourth century.
We know more about the human mind and
its subtle workings; more about the Bible
and the way in which it was written; and,
historically at least, more about Jesus of
Nazareth and the circumstances surround-
ing him and his first disciples. This and
other new knowledge has forever buried the
Athanasian monuments in the sands of ob-
livion, removing them from the sight of a
modern man who is seeking practical relig-
ious realities. Perhaps I should say that
this ought to be the situation. As a matter
of fact, a wrong conception of dogma has
THE RISE OF THE CREEDS 141
fastened the Athanasian viewpoint on the
Christian Church, as something infallible and
unchangeable. Otherwise, we should not
have even to refer to it here.
The problem of describing satisfactorily
Jesus' relation to God and to the world is
to-day, in many respects, an entirely differ-
ent problem from that confronting the
Church Fathers. In fact, much more recent
phases of the problem are antiquated. The
choice that is usually held out at present, of
accepting historic Trinitarianism or of being
classed as a Unitarian, is an incorrect way
of presenting the issue. This false dilemma
is due partly to mere polemic, partly to fail-
ure to understand the existing situation, and
partly to the laziness or the legalism of minds
which cannot get on without convenient cat-
egories which save time and effort. The
issue to-day is simply between what is Chris-
tian and what is non-Christian. The choice
lies between espousing the Christian view of
life and paying homage to some other view.
142 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
And by espousing the Christian view of life
I mean making effective in thought and
in daily living Jesus' fundamental ideas of
God, man, the world, and their interrela-
tions ; the ideas which we find controlling in
his teaching and in his life. This practi-
cal, personal appropriation of the spirit of
Jesus is, of course, the main problem for us
all, but the mind is justified in seeking the
implications involved and in asking further,
" What think ye of Christ? " This is not
merely a speculative task whose results are
purely theoretical. A clear answer has prac-
tical value in that it clarifies many moral and
religious questions.
The Incaenation and the Doctrine
OF Human Natuee
The belief in the necessity, for salvation,
of a complete incarnation of God in human
form has been due to a prior belief, namely,
that human nature is essentially and entirely
corrupt. In early Christian thought, begin-
THE INCARNATION 143
ning at least as early as Paul, the evident evil
in human life was joined with the biblical
story of the fall of man. The theory of the
complete corruption and perverseness of
man was the result. On such a theory it was
natural to think of God as bringing salvation
to man solely through a miraculous incarna-
tion. Thus arose the necessity, in the minds
of the thinkers of that day, for regarding
Jesus as the " God-Man," in the historic
meaning of that term, namely, " God and
man in one Person forever."
That God is continually incarnating him-
self in human life, a religious man must
surely hold ; and the one differentiating mark
of the Christian believer is that he believes
Jesus to have been the supreme incarnation
of the God-life in man. As Sabatier says,
" The Heavenly Father lives within the Son
of Man, and the dogma of the God-Man,
interpreted by the piety of each Christian,
not by the subtle metaphysics of the doctors
and the schools, becomes the central and dis-
144 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
tinguishing dogma of Christianity." But
one difficulty with the position of historic
Trinitarianism is that it fails to recognize the
fundamental view of man revealed in the
Synoptic Gospels — a view which is sup-
ported by modern psychology and by our
everyday experience — namely, that human
nature is not totally corrupt; that, as Jesus
taught, all men are potentially " children of
God " ; that is, there is in man, by nature, a
divine element to build on. Hebrew tradi-
tion expresses this same view in Gen. 1:26-
27, where we read, " And God said, * Let us
make man in our image, after our likeness '
.... and God created man in his own
image, in the image of God created he him."
The story of the fall, whatever it may have
meant to the ancient Hebrew, did not suc-
ceed in effacing from his mind this belief.
What is needed for salvation, then, is such
an incarnation of the divine life in human
form as to lead men to turn their backs on
their lower, animal origin and turn their
THE INCARNATION 146
faces toward God and his will. Many lead-
ers of mankind have performed this task
measurably, but one may easily come to the
conviction that Jesus has done it supremely
and for all time. If one yields to him the
practical lordship of life, salvation will in-
evitably follow. We may consider this sal-
vation as sudden, when it involves a complete
change of attitude, as is often the case — con-
version, in the root sense of the word. Or we
may regard it as gradual, in that it means
the steady and often long-drawn-out attempt
to realize the Christian attitude in all the re-
lationships of life. Again, we may regard it
as present and this-worldly, in that it brings
true satisfaction, joy, and achievement in
this life. Finally, we may think of it as a
future possession, or state of being after
death. Under certain conditions the con-
tinuance of life after death would be in-
tolerable. Can we conceive of its being
" blessed " apart from a capacity to appre-
ciate and appropriate the divine life revealed
146 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
in Jesus? For such a salvation — and who
would not concede its sufficiency? — it is not
necessary to subscribe to the historic defini-
tion of the incarnation which the Church has
formulated and insisted upon. If one can
say with Paul, " God was in Christ reconcil-
ing the world unto himself," as a true Chris-
tian must be able to say, he is in a position
to secure all the religious and ethical benefits
which Christianity in any form has ever been
able to proffer.
We may cast bulwarks about this posi-
tion, at this point, by reminding ourselves of
Jesus' own teaching and also of the position
of the earliest disciples. To my mind, Jesus
clearly taught that he was the Messiah ; and,
to the first disciples, this was the true and
final word by which to describe him. This
term did not mean then what later Christian
theologians, saturated with philosophic con-
ceptions, considered it to mean. It meant
merely that member of the Jewish race who
was divinely " anointed " to introduce and
THE INCARNATION 14.7
head the " Kingdom of God." Why may we
not go bacTi to the Synoptic Gospels and con-
tent ourselves with the thought of Jesus as
the introducer of the Kingdom of God
among men and its divine head ? Then, freed
from any compelling necessity regarding el-
aborate metaphysics and abstruse dogma, we
may devote our whole energy to the supreme
and eternally vital task of being introduced
into the Kingdom ourselves in order that we
may " minister " to the many others who
need the same introduction. Jesus was cer-
tainly not careful to insist on his complete
infallibility in all departments of knowledge
or of life, else he would never have said,
" Why callest thou me good? None is good
save one, even God " ; nor would he have dis-
claimed knowledge of the exact time of the
coming of the Kingdom. The disciples,
also, were not careful about such abstract
considerations, else they would never have
reported these sayings. A position sufficient
for the Master himself, and for his first dis-
148 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
ciples, is surely sufficient for us; and if we
go back to it, as we easily can, we shall be
relieved of a great incubus and set free for
the glorious, compelling. Christian task of
making the real Christ-life dominant in the
world.
God and the Holy Spieit
Another objection to the hitherto prevail-
ing viewpoint is the distinction it seeks to
establish between God and the Holy Spirit
in the very attempt made to unite them.
This is easily understandable when we con-
sider the history of this phase of dogma.
In the ancient world, especially in late Jew-
ish thought and in the later developments of
Platonism, God was conceived of as stand-
ing entirely apart from the world of men
and of things, as far as his own direct ac-
tivity was concerned. He was the onty holy
one, superior to mundane matters in his
awesome majesty; or a principle of truth and
goodness that could not be brought into con-
THE HOLY SPIRIT 149
tact with human aff au's except through some
intermediary. Hence the idea of angels and
other intermediary beings, or principles, like
the Philonic "Word" which the Fourth
Gospel adopts, to bring the God-life down
to earth. Hence the separative conception
of the Holy Spirit of God acting as a bearer
of good from God to man.
There is much truth in all these con-
ceptions. The Christian position as embod-
ied in Jesus' teaching is theistic, certainly.
That is, God is not man and man is not God.
If there is to be any impartation of the
spiritual God to a man potentially but not
actually spiritual, it must come through
channels that can effectively accomplish the
transference of spiritual life. History leads
us to believe that such impartation is direct
from God to man; the actual Spirit, which
is God himself, working directly upon the
potential spirit, which is man ; but also prop-
agated from man to man by the impelling
power of God in man. Thus any religious
160 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
leader of mankind is an intermediary and
Jesus may be considered the supreme inter-
mediary— not only prophet and king, but
also priest, if we care for historic termi-
nology.
But a modern thinker, of any idealistic
kind whatsoever, finds it hard, if he thinks
about the matter at all, to differentiate be-
tween God and the Holy Spirit of God.
God is not only " a spirit " but the Spirit,
and where the Spirit of Holiness is, there
is God. What is the reason for, or the value
of, differentiating them and then bringing
them together again by means of a meta-
physical formula which none can understand
and which has no practical religious value
that cannot be secured in another way?
Whatever may be said for plurahstic views
of the universe in general, nothing can be
said for that sort of pluralism which prac-
tically says: "Let x^y and y=oc; then x
and y are identical and yet distinct." This
sort of thing may do very well on paper, but
THE HOLY SPIRIT 151
it does not touch real life. As a matter of
fact, the general trend of our modern
thought is toward the unity of the final
reality underlying the world; and in so far
as this trend is actual, just so far do these
ancient distinctions between God the Father
and God the Holy Spirit become difficult to
maintain.
Here, again, it is a comfort and a support
to return to Jesus' teaching and to the posi-
tion of the first disciples. In the Gospel of
John, to be sure, and in the Pauline epistles,
the concept of the Holy Spirit is prominent,
but it is far from being the metaphysical con-
cept of later times. In the teaching of Jesus
reported in the Synoptic Gospels, that is, up
to the time of his death, the idea appears in
the accounts of only four separate incidents.
In two of these cases the parallel passages
raise a possible question regarding the cor-
rectness of the record in this particular.
The third case is a quotation from Isaiah,
and in the fourth, the phrase used is " Spirit
162 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
of your Father." Taking all four instances
exactly as they stand, the most satisfactory
interpretation is that here we have either the
customary Jewish circumlocution to avoid
the use of the divine name, or simply the
old Hebraic use of the word " spirit." Cer-
tainly nothing could be further from the evi-
dent meaning of these passages than a meta-
physical distinction between God and his
Spirit. Everywhere else, and in numerous
connections where we might expect to find
the concept of the Holy Spirit introduced,
Jesus consistently uses the word " Father "
and emphasizes the direct and irmnediate
contact between God and his children.
There are seven other occasions reported
in the Synoptic Gospels in which we find the
Holy Spirit mentioned. One is a citation
from Isaiah and five of the others are mani-
festly of the Hebraic type already referred
to. The seventh is the famous passage in
Matt. 28:19, where the risen Jesus is re-
ported as using the threefold formula
THE HOLY SPIRIT 153
" Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." What-
ever one's view of its literary history, this
particular verse does not belie the truth of
the statement that the Synoptic Gospels are
dominated by the messianic conception of
Jesus and that the idea of the Holy Spirit is
rarely found ; also, when found, the idea does
not warrant the metaphysical interpretation
so often put upon it.
In the teaching of Jesus, and in the Syn-
optic Gospels generally, God is thought of
as the loving Father, so near that there is
no need nor room for any intermediary be-
tween him and his children. He who is
Spirit, the Spirit, is close at hand — God
himself. With the disciples it was really a
" duality," the Father and the Son. As a
matter of fact, the Pauline and the Johan-
nine conceptions of the Spirit, mentioned in
connection with God the Father and Jesus
the Son, are far removed from the fourth-
century conception. They are really only
practical working definitions, describing in
154 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
terms of actual Christian experience the way
in which God works in the world. This is
also true of the threefold formula of Matt.
28:19, referred to above. Undoubtedly,
however, in all these instances the thought is
beginning to tend away from the simple,
practical significance of the Hebraic and
dominant Synoptic emphasis.
The Main Cause of Present Mis-
understanding
In spite of these strictures, my sympathies
are with historic Trinitarianism rather than
with Unitarianism. Certainly any sympa-
thetic religious man who is not a bigot would
respond to the general attitude taken by
such great Unitarian leaders as Channing
and Martineau, but, generally speaking,
Unitarianism has interested itself too largely
in pointing to the negative side of the ques-
tion. In insisting, in season and out of
season, that Jesus was " a mere man " it has
failed, along with many of its opponents
PRESENT MISUNDERSTANDING 155
also, to recognize the fact that no man is " a
mere man," according to genuine Christian
teaching. Much less can it be said of such
a one as Jesus that he was " a mere man."
This point has already been referred to,
but it must be insisted upon because the chief
root of present misunderstanding is here.
Both extreme conservatives and extreme
radicals base their position on the old and
mistaken view that human nature is totally
different and disconnected from the divine
nature. I have pointed out that this view
does not accord with ancient Hebrew
thought nor with the teaching of Jesus.
Neither does it accord with the results of
modern psychology. It sprang out of late
Jewish and late Platonic developments,
through both of which it effected an entrance
into Christian thought and became control-
ling. So long as it persists, so long will men
who ought to be together remain separated,
because the particular way in which the di-
vinity of Christ is conceived of depends upon
156 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
this prior position. If there is an absolute
gap between human nature and the divine,
then the divinity of Christ will be conceived
of as a complete, miraculous incarnation, and
the tendency will be to run the whole gamut
of external authority, infallibility and mi-
raculous proof. If human nature is recog-
nized as potentially divine, the divinity of
Christ will be thought of as such an impar-
tation of divine life, in the realm of the ethi-
cal and the religious, as will infallibly draw
men to God, if Jesus be truly given the pre-
eminence. Thus men's hearts will be turned
away from sin and they will be led in the
ways of righteousness.
Can We Believe In the Divinity of
Christ?
Let me gather together, in conclusion, the
positive, constructive elements in the posi-
tion here taken, lest their full force be di-
minished through the piecemeal statement
necessitated by the previous inevitable argu-
BELIEF IN THE DIVINITY 157
ment. Most people inherit their religion
with the color of their hair and either do not
question it at all or do not, cannot, question
fairly. Even those who have been forced to
question most, in formulating their religious
views, are controlled far more by practical
tendencies than by purely intellectual con-
siderations. This is as it should be and as it
has ever been. For most of us an intellectual
statement is only a buttress for, or a clar-
ification of, a faith already more or less
spontaneously appropriated. Still, we may
be helped by such a statement because our
minds demand it. Religion cannot do with-
out dogma. If a body of religionists should
unite on the simple basis of their belief in
God, the universal Father, that basis would
be a dogmatic basis. What is needed is not
the elimination of dogma but its simplifica-
tion, and also a provision for its continual
revivification through the adaptation of its
statement to advancing knowledge. Let us,
therefore, for entirely practical reasons, put
158 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
forth an account of the intellectual process
by which a modern man, with full recognition
of the results of science and of historical
criticism, may defend his faith in the divinity
of Jesus.
We have a life to live in the midst of a
world that is partly, but only partly, intelli-
gible to us. In order to live that life most ef-
fectively it is necessary to have some convic-
tion regarding the why of it all, the whence
and the whither of things. The facts of ex-
istence give us clues which we may follow up
far enough to establish reasonable hypothe-
ses, or faiths, by means which we can govern
our action, holding fast the more firmly as
experience justifies our faith; discarding or
modifying as experience compels us thus to
change. One is at liberty, of course, to inter-
pret the universe in terms of the lowest of its
elements, provided one is willing to pay the
penalty. So, one may fix his faith in atoms,
become a materialist, and consider all spiri-
tual forms of life as illusory. It would seem
BELIEF IN THE DIVINITY 159
more reasonable, however, to believe that the
ultimate nature of an organism is that re-
vealed by its highest manifestations; that
which it is capable of producing at its best.
If this is true of plants and animals, may we
not reasonably assume it to be true of the
universe of things, plants, animals and men ?
One may easily say that one thinks a stone is
as good as a man, but " actions speak louder
than words," and therefore we do not have
to argue the position that there is an ascend-
ing scale of being in the universe from the
inanimate, through the merely animate, to
the consciousness of man.
Current observation and the study of his-
tory both may lead us to the conclusion that,
in man, it is not merely intellectual acumen
which is significant, but also, still more, what
we call character and spiritual appreciation,
because the latter, far more than the former,
have to do with the direction and employ-
ment of man's abilities and with his destiny.
Among the various exponents of competing
160 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
types of character and spiritual appreciation
stands Jesus of Nazareth, not merely as a
teacher of what is known as the Christian
life, but also as a living exemplar of it. It
was never easier than now to come to the
conclusion that in Jesus — not in his teaching
merely, but in himself, in his Person — we
have the highest personal manifestation of
spiritual life that the world has yet seen.
This conclusion may be reached not only
through the direct response the life of Jesus
calls forth, but also by considering the age-
long and ever-increasing command it has ex-
ercised over the hearts of men — a command
which, in these latter days even more than
at earlier times, is overleaping geographical,
political and racial boundaries and is exert-
ing its benign influence on man as man.
What can we say, then, about a universe
which has produced this wonderful phenom-
enon? What must we say? Are not we jus-
tified in holding that the essential nature of
the organism is best revealed in this, its finest
BELIEF IN THE DIVINITY 161
flower? Are we not compelled to say that
such things are not due to chance? If not
chance, then what? At this point should we
not bend the knee and recognize our God?
And must it not be that such a God is es-
sentially of the same spirit and purpose as
the life through which we come to a belief
in him? In other words, must not our God
be like Jesus of Nazareth? He cannot be
inferior to him and remain God; nor can
we easily imagine a quality of life superior to
that of Jesus. Thus the usual form of the
problem is reversed. The modern question
is not, *' Is Jesus like God? " but rather, " Is
there a God of the same quality of life as
that possessed by Jesus?" God is the cc,
the unknown quantity which we are seeking
to determine, and it seems most reasonable
to hold that Jesus is the known factor
through which we are enabled to solve the
problem.
If all this is true, or in general accordance
with the truth, then we are ready to use with
162 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST
intelligence, discrimination, and yet with
whole-hearted self -commitment, many of the
time-worn terms that have been hallowed by
Christian usage. Especially may it be said
that the language of the New Testament
serves to express fittingly our proper appre-
ciation of, and our attitude toward, Jesus of
Nazareth. We may call him Messiah, the
Christ, the Son of God, the Revealer, the
Savior, Lord, and Master. In his varied
functions he will be to us Prophet, Priest,
and King. Nothing will be too high or too
lofty to express our faith in him, our trustful
attitude toward him, or our recognition of
his supreme and final place in the drama
of life portrayed before our half-blind eyes
upon the wondrous stage of God's great
universe.
INDEX
Abraham, 123
Acts, Book of, 3, 7, 15, 17,
33, 34, 35
Adonai, 99
Agouy in the Garden, The,
18, 58
Alexander the Great, 20
Alexandrian, 75, 138
Allah, 98
Anointing at Bethany, The,
76
Apocalypse, 3
Apostolic, 18
Apostolic Succession, 14
Aramaic, 19, 20, 21, 22, 86
Arians, 140
Arnold, Matthew, 87, 95, 96
Ascension, The, 35, 80
Asia Minor, 27
Athanasian, 140, 141
Athanasians, 140
Babylonian Exile, The, 98
Baptism, 56
Baptism of Jesus, The, 56
Baptist, 14
Betrayal, The, 79
Bible, The, 11, 14, 89, 140
Biblical, 143
Brahmanism, 97
Buddhism, 97
Caesarea Philippi, 65
Catholic, 14
Catholicism, 11
Catholics, 11
Channing, W. E., 154
Christ, 66, 90, 131, 137, 142,
162
Chronology of the Ministry,
59
Church, The, 14, 45, 54, 129,
132, 141, 146
Church Fathers, The, 141
Cleansing of the Temple,
The, 77
Conservatives, 131, 155
Corinthians, First Epistle
to the, 17, 35
Cornelius the Centurion, 7
Creeds, The, 136, 138, 139,
140
Cross, The, 15, 18, 31, 62.
64, 80, 111
Cursing of the Fig Tree,
The, 76
Damascus, 136
David, 51
Demons, 39. 60
Deuteronomy, 93
Divinity of Christ, 54, 61,
130, 131, 132, 133, 155,
156, 158
Egypt, 30
Elijah, 51, 66
Elisha, 51
Episcopalian, 14
Fall of Man, The, 143
Galilean, 76. 77
Galilee, 34, 52, 59, 60, 63,
75, 82
Genesis, 119, 144
Gentiles, 7, 8, 44, 69, 107,
124
163
164
INDEX
Good Samaritan, The, 104,
118
God-Man, The, 143
Greco-Roman, 52, 139
Greek, 19, 20, 21, 22, 86,
137
Greeks, 15
Hebraic, 152, 154
Hebrew, 21, 88, 114, 116,
118, 185, 144, 155
Hebrews, Epistle to the, 17,
31, 58
Herod the Great, 50
Herodians, The, 62
Hillel, Rabbi, 53
Holy Spirit, The, 4, 148-154
Hosea, 102
Incarnation, The, 142-148
Interpretation, Method of,
86, 91, 128
Isaac, 123, 135
Isaiah, 151, 152
Islam, 98
Israel, 118
Jacob, 123
Jahwe, 99
James, The Apostle, 72
Jehovah, 99, 102
Jeremiah, 14, 102
Jerusalem, 34, 51, 52, 59,
69, 73, 75"
Jewish, 4, 11, 20, 52, 55,
75, 77, 88, 91, 94, 123,
124. 126. 135. 136, 137,
146, 148, 152, 155
Jews, 4, 7, 15. 52, 57, 92,
98, 99, 118, 134
Johannine, 26, 136, 153
John, The Apostle, 26, 27,
28, 72
John the Baptist, 13, 55, 56,
66, 126
John, The Gospel of, 12, 26,
31. 55, 61, 66, 71, 72, 75,
77, 78, 79, 134, 136, 137,
138, 149
Jcnah, 51
Jordan, The, 73, 74
Joseph, 30
Josephus, 1
Judaism, 4, 7, 98
Judea, 59, 74
Kingdom, The, 36, 44, 45,
46, 60, 61, 64, 78, 82, 93,
104, 109, 117, 120, 123,
124, 125, 126, 127, 137,
147
Laborers in the Vineyard,
The, 104
Latin, 19
Law, The, 2, 7, 11, 13, 88,
89, 90, 92, 93, 95
Lazarus, The Raising of, 42
Leviticus, 93
Liberals, 131
Lincoln, 17
Logia, 20, 21
Logia-Document, 20, 21, 24,
26, 74
.Logos, The, 27, 31, 137, 138,
149
Lord's Supper, The, 12, 17,
78, 79
Lourdes, 41
Luke, Gospel of, 3, 5, 21, 22,
24, 25, 28, 30, 34, 54, 57,
58, 74, 92, 135
Luke, Prologue of, 25
Luther, 11
McGiffert, A. C, 22, 23
Mammon, 108
Mark, 22, 23, 24
Mark, The Gospel of, 22,
24, 26, 28, 31, 60, 65, 67,
73, 74
Martineau, James, 154
INDEX
165
Mary, 30
Matthew, 20, 21, 22
Matthew, The Gospel of,
14, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28. 30,
55, 57, 58, 61, 74, 92, 135
Menzies, Allan, 10, 13, 16
Messiah, 44, 57, 60, 70, 146,
162
Messiahship, 61, 134
Messianic, 55, 57, 134, 153
Miletus. 17
Miracles, 20, 36, 38^4, 76
Monroe, James, 10
Mouioe Doctrine, The, 11
Moslem, 98
Nazareth. 3. 27, 28, 30, 47,
52, S3, 140, 160, 161, 162
New Testament, The, 2, 7,
14, 32, 33, 134, 162
Noah, 51
Old Testament, The, 7, 8,
44, 48, 51, 52, 55, 58,
76, 102, 121
Palestine, 6, 21, 50
Papias, 21, 22, 23
Parable, 76, 86, 103, 104, 105
Passover, The, 76
Paul, 1, 2. 3. 5, 8, 9, 15, 17,
31, 33, 35, 36, 37, 87, 88,
90, 123, 135, 136, 143, 146
Pauline, 2, 136, 151, 153
Perea, 59, 73, 74
Perean, 76
Person of Christ, The, 46,
129, 134, 143, 160
Peter, 15, 23, 66, 67, 72,
82, 83, 110, 111
Peter's Confession, 65, 67
Petrine, 24
Pharisaism, 94, 96
Pharisees, The, 18, 62, 78,
94, 95, 125
Philippians, The Epistle to
the, 31
Philonic, 27, 137, 149
Pilate, 1
Platonic, 155
Platonism, 148
Prodigal Son, The, 103
Prophecy, 14, 52, 55, 76
Prophetism, 116
Prophets, The, 51, 66, 88,
110, 114
Protestant, 14
Protestants, 11
Psychical Research, Society
for, 81
Publican, The, 115
Queen of Sheba, The, 51
Rabbinical, 53, 63, 91, 94,
95
Rabbinism, 53, 78
Rabbis, The, 62, 63, 77, 98,
102
Radicals, 155
Resurrection, The, 2, 13, 29,
33, 35, 36, 44, 67, 69,
70, 80-84
Roman, 55
Roman Centurion, The, 118
Sabatler, Auguste, 143
Sabbath, The, 101
Samaria, 59
Samaritan, 104
Samuel, 135
Satan, 68, 111
Scribes, The, 52, 67, 69, 78,
95, 125
Scriptures, The, 7
Second Isaiah, 61, 70, 102
Sermon on the Mount, The,
102
Sidon, 63
Social Salvation, 128
Solomon, 51, 100
166
INDEX
Son of God, The, 162
Son of Man. The, 64, 67,
68, 69, 107, 111, 143
Sower, The Parable of the,
61
Supernatural, The, 43
Synoptic, 28, 67, 134, 144,
147, 151, 152, 153, 154
Synoptics, The, 27, 77, 79
Tacitus, 1
Temptation, The, 57-59
Thomas, The Apostle, 37
Transfiguration, The, 72
Trinitarianism, 141, 144,
154
Triumphal Entry, The, 76
Tyre, 63
Unitarian, 141, 154
Unitarianism, 154
United States, The, 10
Unmerciful Servant, The,
110
Virgin Birth, The, 29, 30,
33, 50, 51, 135, 136
Washing the Disciples'
Feet, 79
Washington, 17
Zaccheus, 127
BERGSON'S CREATIVE EVOLUTION
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of Sociology in Stanford University. 531 pp., $1.75 net; by
mail, $1.90. {Just issued.)
Presents the most comprehensive record of the Chinaman in
the United States that has yet been attempted.
"Scholarly. Covers every important phase, economic, social, and
political, of the Chinese question in America down to the ban B'rancisco
fire in 1906." — New York Sun.
"Statesmanlike. Of intense interest." — Hartford Courant.
" A remarkably thorough historical study. Timely and useful. En-
hanced by the abundant array of documentary facts and evidence." —
Chicago Record- Herald.
Immigration: And Its Effects Upon the United
States
By Prescott F. Hall, A.B., LL.B, Secretary of the Immi-
gration Restriction League. 393 pp. $1.50 net; by mail, $1.65,
" Should prove interesting to everyone. Very readable, forceful and
convincing. Mr. Hall considers every possible phase of this great
question and does it in a masterly way tliat shows not only that he
thoroughly understands it, but that he is deeply interested in it and has
studied everything bearing upon it." — Boston Transcrtpt-
"A readable work containing a vast amount of valuable information.
Especially to be commended is the discussion of the racial effects. As a
trustworthy general guide it should prove a god-send." — New York
Evening Post.
The Election of Senators
By Professor George H. Haynes, Author of " Representation
in State Legislatures." 300 pp. $1.50 net; by mail, $1.65.
Shows the historical reasons for the present method, and
its effect on the Senate and Senators, and on state and local
government, with a detailed review of the arguments for and
against direct election.
" A ♦.imely book. . . . Prof. Haynes is qualified for a historical and
analyucal treatise on the subiectof the Senate."— A'(»t£' York Evenintr Sun.
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
34 WEST 33d street NEW YORK
THE HOME BOOK OF VERSE
American and English (1580-1912)
Compiled by Burton E. Stevenson. Collects the best short
poetry of the English language — not only the poetry every-
body says is good, but also the verses that everybody
reads. (3742 pages; India paper, i vol., 8vo, complete au-
thor, title and first line indices, $7.50 net ; carriage 40 cents
extra.)
The most comprehensive and representative collection of
American and English poetry ever published, including
3,120 unabridged poems from some 1,100 authors.
It brings together in one volume the best short poetry
of the English language from the time of Spencer, with
especial attention to American verse.
The copyright deadline has been passed, and some three
hundred recent authors are included, very few of whom
appear in any other general anthology, such as Lionel
Johnson, Noyes, Housman, Mrs. Meynell, Yeats, Dobson,
Lang, Watson, Wilde, Francis Thompson, Gilder, Le
Gallienne, Van Dyke, Woodberry, Riley, etc., etc.
The poems as arranged by subject, and the classifica-
tion is unusually close and searching. Some of the most
comprehensive sections are: Children's rhymes (300
pages) ; love poems (800 pages) ; nature poetry (400
pages); humorous verse (500 pages); patriotic and histor-
ical poems (600 pages); reflective and descriptive poetry
(400 pages). No other collection contains so many popu-
lar favorites and fugitive verses.
DELIGHTFUL POCKET ANTHOLOGIES
The following books are uniform, with full gilt flexible covers and
pictured cover linings. i6mo. Each, cloth, $1.50; leather, $2.50.
THE GARLAND OT CHILDHOOD
A little book for all lovers of
children. Compiled by Percy
Withers.
THB VISTA or ENGUSH VKRSE
Compiled by Henry S. Pan-
coast. Prom Spencer to Kip-
ling.
LETTERS THAT UV£
Compiled by Laura E. Lock-
wood and Amy R. Kelly. Some
150 letters.
POEMS FOR TRAVELLERS
(About "The Continent.")
Compiled by Miss Mary R. J.
DuBols.
THE OPEN KOAD
A little book for wayfarers.
Compiled by E. V. Lucas.
THE FRIENDLY TOWN
A little book for the urbane,
compiled by E. V. Lucas.
THE POETIC OLD-WORLD
Compiled by Miss L. H.
Humphrey. Covers Europe, In-
cluding- Spain, Belgium and th«
British Isles.
THE POETIC NEW-WORLD
Compiled by Miss Humphrey.
HENRY HOLT AND
34 WEST 33rd street
COMPANY
NEW YORK
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE
By ROMAIN ROLLAND
Translated from the French by Gilbert Can nan. In
three volumes, each $1.50 net.
This great trilogy, the life story of a musician, at first
the sensation of musical circles in Paris, has come to be one
of the most discussed books among literary circles in France,
England and America.
Each volume of the American edition has its own indi-
vidual interest, can be understood without the other, and
comes to a definite conclusion.
The three volumes with the titles of the French volume^
included are:
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE
Dawn — Morning — Youth — Revolt
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE IN PARIS
The Market Place — Antoinette — The House
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE: JOURNEY'S END
Love and Friendship — The Burning Bush — The New
Dawn
SoJJie Noteworthy Comments
" 'Hats off, gentlemen — a genius.' . One may mention 'Jean-Chris-
tophe' in the same breath with Balzac's 'Lost Illusions'; it is as big
as that. . It is moderate praise to call it with Edmund Gosse 'the
noblest work of fiction of the twentieth century.' . A book as
big, as elemental, as original as though the art of fiction began to-
day. . We have nothing comparable in English literature. . " —
Springfield Republican.
"If a man wishes to understand those devious currents which make
up the great, changing sea of modern life, there is hardly a single
book more illustrative, more informing and more inspiring." — Current
Opinion.
"Must rank as one of the very few important works of fiction of the
last decade. A vital compelling work. We who love it feel that it
will live." — Independent.
"The most momentous novel that has come to us from France, or
from any other European country, in a decade." — Boston Transcript.
A 32-page booklet about Romain Rolland and Jean-Chris-
tophe, with portraits and complete reviews, on request.
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
NEW BOOKS PRIMARILY FOR WOMEN
Bay of -voar bookseller. 'Postage is 8^ additional
A MONTESSORI MOTHER. By Dorothy Canfield Fisher
A thoroly competent author who has been most closely
associated with Dr. Montessori tells just what American
mothers want to know about this new system of child
training. {Helpfully illustrated. $1.25 tiet.)
THE CHILD ; Its Care, Diet, and Common Ills.
By Dr. E. Mather Sill
Lecturer in New York Polyclinic, Attending Physician at
Good Samaritan Dispensary, New York, etc. With 34 illustra-
tions. 207 pp.; 16mo. ($1.00 net.) Circular with sample
pages on request.
_ "Very well calculated to meet the needs of the young mother. Espe-
cially it contains much useful information which I have not found in
other books of the kind." — Drt. Henry McMaiion Painter, of the New
York Nursery and Child's Hospital.
MAKING A BUSINESS WOMAN. By Anne Shannon Monroe
A young woman whose business assets are good sense,
good health, and the ability to use a typewriter, goes to Chi-
cago to earn her living. ($1.30 net.)
WHY WOMEN ARE SO. By Mary R. Coolidge
Explains and traces the development of the woman of 1800
into the woman of to-day. ($1.50 net.)
THE SQUIRREL-CAGE. By Dorothy Canfield
A novel recounting the struggle of an American wife and
mother to call her soul her own. {ord printing. $1.35 net.)
HEREDITY in RELATION to EUGENICS. By C. B. Davenport
"One of the foremost authorities . . . tells just what scientific
investigation has estalilished and how far it is possible to control what
the ancients accepted as inevitable."- — N. Y. Times Review.
{With diagrams, 3rd printing. $2.00 net.)
THE GLEAM. By Helen R.Albee
A frank spiritual autobiography. {4th printing. $1.35 net.)
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library
1 1012 01091 9589
Date Due
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